


A Million Lies (A Single Truth)

by Gypsywriter135



Category: Ghost - Mystery Skulls (Music Video), Mystery Skulls (Band)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Ghosts, Hijinks & Shenanigans, up and down and sideways feelings forever
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-06
Updated: 2017-10-30
Packaged: 2018-02-24 09:40:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 41,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2576891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gypsywriter135/pseuds/Gypsywriter135
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Mystery Skulls Gang has its highs and lows, just like every group. Sometimes their experiences are a little more... extravagant than normal, though.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Road Regrets

**Author's Note:**

> Please take note that I have a headcanon that Lewis can "project" himself to look like before he died 1) to keep up appearances and 2) to not unintentionally freak people out in public.
> 
> Not beta'd or proof read

Lewis was not a handy man… ghost.

He was rubbish with machines (the van was Arthur’s, they were a packaged deal), and was lucky that he knew how to use the internet.

Which was why he was completely useless as Arthur fixed the smoking engine on the side of the road.

The blond was half buried in the hood and Lewis could only float nearby as he attempted to know what his friend was doing. Occasionally Arthur would ask him to hand him a tool, and Lewis would just stare at the man’s toolbox until Arthur got impatient and did it himself.

Vivi and Mystery had left a while ago to go back a few miles where a gas station was to grab some fuel for both the group and the vehicle. Arthur was hard at work.

“Hand me the torque wrench.”

Lewis followed his orders.

“No, the _torque_ wrench, Lew.”

Lewis complied.

“ _Torque_ wrench.”

Lewis nodded.

“Lewis, this is a screwdriver.”

Lewis took the tool back and replaced it with another.

“No, this is a-never mind, forget it.” Arthur shoved himself out from the van’s hood and bent down and shuffled through the box for a second before procuring his wrench. He dived back into the engine, metallic clanging echoing around them.

After a moment, Arthur spoke up. “I guess it’s nice to know that even as a ghost, you’re still completely useless when it comes to mechanics.”

Lewis huffed. “I see you’re still a smartass.”

Arthur’s shoulders shrugged. “Yeah, well, someone’s gotta be.”

“You sure about that?”

“Well it sure as shit ain’t gonna be Vivi or you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Arthur poked his head out of the hood and grinned at the entity. “Well, you, know…”

Lewis rolled his eyes and floated closer, peering into the innards of the van. “I still can’t understand this.”

“Being a ghost or mechanics?”

The purple specter just stared unimpressively at the other man. Arthur smirked and jerked his head to the engine.

“Okay, see this?” He reached in and shoved his metal arm into the parts. He leaned forward to reach past it. “That’s the-”

He must have hit something because suddenly his arm was sucked further in and the sound of metal grinding on metal was ear splitting. Lewis jerked back as Arthur cursed, trying to jerk his hand free.

“Arthur!”

“Shit!”

The tugging didn’t seem to be effective, especially since Arthur was a twig to begin with. Lewis hurriedly floated forward and grabbed Lewis by the waist, adding his own strength to the mix.

With their combined efforts, Arthur was free. He fell backwards, phasing through Lewis and landing on the ground with a soft grunt.

“Arthur, you okay?” Lewis panicked, locking eyes on the blond.

Arthur sat up in the dirt, frowning. “Yeah, I’m good.” He looked down at his arm. “Aw, man,” he groaned.

His arm was shredded, metal strips where a once functional arm had been just moments before. Lewis stared at it

“That was my best attachment, too,” Arthur sighed. He pushed himself up and stumbled briefly before catching himself. He walked past a still stunned Lewis.

“Arthur…”

“It’s okay, man,” Arthur assured. “I’ve got a spare in the back.

Lewis trailed after him quietly, eyes trained on the mangled limb.

Arthur walked to the back of the van and threw open the door, reaching forward and grabbing the edge of a cardboard box, pulling it towards him. He opened it easily and rummaged in it, emerging with another metal attachment.

“Hey, Lewis, can you go grab me my toolbox real quick?” He wasn’t paying attention to the ghost, already messing with the arm in his lap.

Lewis did as he was asked, returning in short order with the items. He stopped at the sight of Arthur sitting on the back bumper, damaged arm already removed.

The ghost was suddenly bombarded with memories, of green mist and pain. There was fear and shock and betrayal and tears and hurt and anger and confusion and such a range of emotions that he momentarily forgot everything around him.

Evil swirled around him, bypassing him and instead heading to the only other person with him, overtaking the man he had called a friend for years.

There was nothing he could do, nothing at all, just watch and wait and be surrounded by green, so much green, why was there so much green?

“Lewis?” 

The dead man was snapped out of it and he gazed at Arthur. The other man was staring at him, a flash of confusion on his worried face, a faint trace of fear in his eyes.

Wordlessly, Lewis shoved the toolbox at Arthur. The blond took it after a second, setting it beside him and grabbing a screwdriver, fixing a screw on the arm before hefting it up and beginning to attach it.

Lewis was silent for a long while as Arthur worked. When he was tightening the screws where metal met flesh, Lewis finally spoke up.

“It wasn’t you.”

Arthur paused before his hand dropped to his lap, gripping tightly to the tool.

“You never told me.”

Arthur was silent.

“Arthur.”

“Would you have believed me anyways?”

Lewis frowned. 

Arthur grinned sadly up at him. “It was my arm that pushed you, Lewis. For all intents and purposes, it was me.”

“But you didn’t want to.”

“But I _did_ ,” Arthur snapped, eyes narrowing. “There was a voice in my head and it told me to do it and I _did it_. It doesn’t matter if I didn’t want to or not, the fact is that I _did_ do it.”

Lewis didn’t know how to respond.

“Mystery was there,” Arthur replied. “Knew that something… wasn’t right. Bit it off. I don’t… I don’t really remember a whole lot about… everything, really. I remember the voice, I remember… pushing. After that it’s all just a blur. But I think that if Mystery hadn’t tore it off when he did, I… I wouldn’t be here…”

“Arthur, you don’t blame yourself for this… do you?” Lewis asked.

Arthur glared at Lewis. “What do you think, Lewis?”

“It wasn’t your fault!”

“It was still part of my body that pushed you!”

“You lost your arm because you were possessed!”

“And _you_ lost your _life_!”

Silence followed Arthur’s shrill outburst. He looked devastated for a moment before he bowed his head. Lewis watched with wide eyes as he took in a deep, stuttering breath, fingers twitching on the screwdriver, before he sighed, shoulder dropping. He wordlessly went back to working on his arm, studiously not looking at Lewis as he did so. 

Lewis had no idea what to do, what to say. Sure, at first he had blamed Arthur, had harbored a silent grudge against him. But clarity was a funny thing in hindsight and now Lewis knew the truth.

Arthur was his best friend. Had been for years. Lewis honestly couldn’t remember a time without Arthur by his side, even if it was cowering in fright. They were a packaged deal, just like Arthur and the stupid van.

He no longer blamed Arthur for something out of his control.

“Arthur,” Lewis said softly. “I-”

“Hey!” Came Vivi’s excited voice from behind them. “Have you see the…” She came around the van and slowed in her steps. She took in the scene, saw Arthur’s ministrations, took in the broken arm on the ground. “Oh…”

Awkward silence descended. Vivi glanced at Lewis, an eyebrow raised, in question, but Lewis was too busy staring at Arthur. Mystery padded up to him, sniffing at the discarded arm.

A second later, Arthur let out a relieved sigh, the arm letting out a soft hiss. Mystery growled briefly before Arthur threw the screwdriver back in the box and flexed his limb. He bent the elbow and wriggled his fingers, twisted his wrist until he seemed satisfied. 

“Good as new,” he announced. He hopped off the van, threw the old arm in the box and shoved the box back inside. “Should only be a bit longer for the engine and then we can be on our way.”

He grabbed his toolbox and made his way towards the front of the van. Mystery barked once and ran to catch up.

Out of the corner of his eye, Lewis saw Vivi frown at then glare at him, arms laden with bags of food. A gas container sat at her feet.

“What happened?” she asked.

But Lewis didn’t reply. He stared sadly at where he could see the metal elbow peeking out from the hood. 

Because Arthur hadn’t immediately demanded the mini donuts that Vivi had bought for him, nor had he looked anyone in the eye.


	2. A Whole New(ish) World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lewis and Vivi discuss what could have been while searching for Arthur.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote Vivi a little more sarcastic than I planned? So... sorry... It totally works though and I totally headcanon it now (please see the look she gives Arthur in the video when the van breaks down, that's what sparked this, I believe...).

They lose Arthur in the music store.

Lewis and Vivi have looked everywhere in the damn place and their friend is no where to be found. They’d normally just release Mystery on him, but the sign on the window says “No Pets Allowed” and so the poor guy is left to gaze longingly in through the glass.

Seriously, though, the store isn’t even that big. There were rows and rows of old records and walls and shelves just covered with CDs. He couldn’t have left, or else the bell above the door would have alerted them.

Vivi was not happy. Lewis could see the anger rolling off her in waves as he trailed after her, unsure of where to go or even _start_.

“Just a quick look, he said,” Vivi grumbled as they past by the same aisle for the the fourth time. “It’ll take ten minutes tops, he said. Oh, when I find him, I’m going to shove half these CDs down his throat.”

“I think that’s a little overdoing it, don’t you think?” Lewis asked.

Vivi glared at him. “If he would just _stay still_ for once in his life, we wouldn’t have this problem.”

Lewis grinned. “I’ve know Arthur forever. The only time he sits still is when he’s working on something. And even then he’s constantly moving.”

“Only because he doesn’t put his tools back in the correct place,” Vivi corrected with a finger in the air. She turned around and placed her hands on her hips, gazing up at the dead man. “He’s unorganized.”

“That’s just Arthur,” Lewis shrugged.

“Well, he could stand to be more organized when we’re out in public,” she huffed. She turned on her heal and started forward for another pass looking down the aisles. “Seriously. Where the hell is he?”

“Maybe he did leave,” the ghost offered. “And we just didn’t hear the bell.”

“But then Mystery wouldn’t be looking so put out.”

Lewis turned to look at the poor dog outside the window. When Mystery caught his eye, his ears perked up and he pressed his nose closer to the glass, tail wagging. Lewis waved, then shrugged. Mystery frowned and his head sunk, looking absolutely miserable.

“Maybe we should sneak him in here,” Lewis suggested, feeling his heart pulse with a pang of sympathy. “He could probably help.”

“Just go tell him that his owners missing,” Vivi rolled her eyes, turning down a pathway and heading to the back of the store again where the older records were. “That _definitely_ won’t get him riled up.”

“It was just a thought,” Lewis muttered.

“Babe, watch yourself,” Vivi replied, casting a quick glance at the floor.

When Lewis looked down, he realized that he was floating a few inches off the ground. Quickly, he replaced his feet down on solid ground, grinning sheepishly at the blue-haired girl.

“Whoops.”

“We’ve got to work on that,” Vivi told him. “What if someone had seen?”

“Tell you what,” Lewis said lightly. “Next time you die and become a ghost, you get to give me advice on appearing living. How’s that sound.”

“Don’t be a jerk,” Vivi told him, frowning.

There was a brief feeling of guilt. It wasn’t Vivi’s fault, she was just worried that someone would freak out. It was natural, and Lewis appreciated the thought that she had in the hopes of him being as normal as possible.

It had taken a bit, but they’d made it work. Lewis was just glad that he got another chance at living, even if it meant that he was actually dead at the same time.

Dead or alive, that type of thinking still managed to make Lewis’ head hurt.

Vivi groaned in front of him. “Seriously though, where could he have gone? _He’s_ not a ghost, he can’t phase through walls.”

“You’re a detective,” Lewis told her with a small smirk. “You figure it out.”

“Maybe if my boyfriend stopped cracking jokes and poking fun, we’d be able to find our friend and get out of here.” Vivi’s reply was sickly sweet, but her eyes said murder.

If Lewis hadn’t already been dead, he’d be properly terrified of that look.

He did not pity Arthur when they finally found him.

“Alright, so let’s use our sleuthing powers and figure this out,” Lewis said.

Vivi stopped in her tracks and Lewis had to check himself before he phased right through her. The store clerk was watching them curiously.

“You did not just say sleuthing,” she said after a pause.

She turned around to stare at Lewis, eyebrow raise in incredulity.

Lewis shrugged. “What? It’s a fun word.”

“Sleuth.”

Lewis grinned at her.

“I’m dating a moron,” Vivi muttered.

“A dead moron,” Lewis replied happily as they started their search again.

“A dead moron with a soon-to-be-dead moron of a friend,” Vivi said. “I can see why the two of you are best friends now.” 

“Our amazing sleuthing powers?”

“Your idiotic banter and moronic ways, more like it. Instead of naming the group ‘Mystery Skulls’ it should have been ‘Moronic Skulls’. You and him could just knock your thick heads together and call it a day.”

Lewis chuckled as he followed Vivi. They had just made their third loop by the counter when the worker spoke up.

“You lookin’ for that blond dude?” she asked, cocking her pink Mohawk to the side.

Vivi lit up and practically ran up to the poor girl. Pinky looked slightly taken aback at the sudden proximity before she blinked. She poked a thumb over her shoulder at a curtain behind her.

“He asked if we had any cassettes. We keep ‘em all back here ‘cause some punk kids will take them and pull out the ribbon.” 

Before Vivi could kiss her (because she had that look on her face and Vivi liked to express her thanks with over-the-top actions sometimes), Lewis managed to project enough to grab her hand and pull her towards the back room.

“Thanks,” he told Pinky and they disappeared behind the curtain. 

“Arthur?” Vivi called when they entered. There were shelves all the way to the ceiling, drawers holding thousands of cassette tapes, all labeled by genre and then artist alphabetically.

“Over here!”

Vivi frowned and began to wind her way through the maze of shelves. Lewis decided to opt out of that fun experience and simply passed through them, quickly locating the lost member of their party near the center of the mess.

“Hey, man,” Arthur greeted absent-mindedly when he caught sight of the purple specter. “I’ll just be a second later.”

“Vi’s not happy,” Lewis told him. 

Arthur grimaced, turning to look at Lewis full on. A small collection of tapes were cradled to his chest. “Uh, really?”

“Really,” Lewis affirmed. “She wanted to leave half an hour ago.”

“Yes,” Vivi snapped, coming around the corner. She sent Lewis a glare before turning her attention to the blond. “Have you been here the entire time?”

“They have a lot of tapes!” Arthur defended himself.

It didn’t escape Lewis’ notice that the smaller man had slowly inched closer to him. He found it almost comical that Vivi’s wrath was still something that frightened Arthur.

“Well, you’re done,” Vivi told him. “Let’s go. We left Mystery alone and I’m starving. I want a hamburger and you’re denying me of cheesy fries.”

“Alright, fine,” Arthur sighed. “Let me just pay for these.”

The trio began to make their way back to the front. Lewis eyed the tapes in Arthur’s hands.

“I still can’t believe you buy cassettes,” he said. 

“I like tapes,” Arthur defended. “Besides, the van doesn’t have a CD player.”

“You’re the tool guy, maybe you could fix that,” Vivi suggested, holding the curtain open for the boys to pass. Lewis had to duck.

“Nah,” Arthur told her, grinning. “Tapes are better.”

“Most people would argue with you on that,” Vivi said.

“I think she’s one of them,” Lewis snickered.

Arthur frowned as Pinky began to scan the cassettes. Lewis was watching as she put them into the plastic bag and frowned.

“Arthur…” he said slowly.

The blond glanced up from where he was counting out cash from his wallet. “Yeah?”

“Why are all these tapes Disney soundtracks and musical cast recordings?”

Lewis fretted the answer was exactly what he thought and as Arthur handed the woman the money, Vivi groaned as she came to the same conclusion.

“I’m glad you asked,” Arthur grinned, grabbing his bagged merchandise and slinging one arm around each of his companions’ shoulders. He steered them towards the door, Mystery barking happily and jumping on the sidewalk outside.

“Since we seem to have forgotten who’s van it actually is,” Arthur continued. “I thought we’d set the record straight a little.”

“With show tunes?” Lewis asked.

The shit-eating grin Arthur shot him was almost enough to split his face in two. Vivi groaned again, dropping her face into her hands.

“I’ve got one word for you,” Arthur said. “Sing-along!”

If Lewis wasn’t already dead, he was sure that he would be dying from embarrassment right this moment.

Later, as they drove out of the city and hit the highway, “Under the Sea” playing over the speakers and Arthur practically dancing in the driver’s seat, Lewis silently agreed that this was what Hell must be like.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some notes!
> 
> 1) These will be in no specific order unless stated otherwise.  
> 2) Ben has stated that he'd like to keep the content PG-13, so out of respect, I'll be doing my best to abide by his wishes. A few swear words here and there, some... questionable discussions sprinkled throughout, but for the most part, if it's above a PG-13 movie rating, I'm going to try and avoid it.
> 
> Bleep bloop, goodnight


	3. Surrender Is Stronger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ghost hunting isn't all fun and games.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anon who wanted terrified Arthur :)
> 
> Not beta'd or proof read

They don’t realize that the ghost feeds off fear until after they’re separated.

Lewis could hear Mystery barking and growling, but there was no sign of Arthur anywhere. He wasn’t not worried about Vivi, she could handle herself better than anyone he knows, so it’s Arthur he’s worried about.

And by the way Mystery sounded, it seemed like he’s not the only one.

He’s not entirely sure how to find the rest of his friends, but figured that his best bet was to start with Mystery. He was probably the easiest to locate with all the snarling that he was doing. With the two of them, it’d be easy to find the other two.

It was times like these when he was actually thankful that he was a ghost. It was so much easier to just phase through walls and ceilings and floors than taking the steps. Quicker, too.

He followed the sounds of Mystery, but it seemed as if the demon dog was moving as well. Just when Lewis thought he’d found the guy, the sounds would be coming from another room.

Somewhere along the way, he ended up in a large dining room. There were at least a dozen chairs set up around a long table covered in plastic food, a candle chandelier hanging from the ceiling. It swayed softly as Lewis flew past it, it’s feeble light trying to make it past the darkness that surrounded it.

It’s there that he hears it.

When he looks over in the corner, he almost kicks himself for not seeing it until right then. But then again, this particular ghost prides itself on being sneaky.

It’s only the bright orange vest that gives Arthur away. 

His friend was being surrounded by the ghost, a slippery black eel looking thing with bright green eyes and a jaw full of long sharp teeth. It was wrapped around Arthur’s torso, pinning his arms to his sides. It rubbed it snake-like head against Arthur’s head.

Arthur had his eyes screwed shut, his teeth clamped tightly over his bottom lip in an effort to keep from shouting. He was trembling violently.

Lewis saw purple. 

He launched himself at the entity, hands outstretched and fire spewing from him in bursts.

The other ghost hissed, eyes flashing as he let his prey go, trying to get away. But Lewis was faster, and in a rage, and the eel didn’t stand a chance. Lewis wrapped a hand around the end of his tail, gripping it tightly as he smacked it to the ground.

“You leave him alone!” Lewis yelled.

The eel hissed again, smiling toothily. “Oh, but he’sssss so delicioussssss.”

Lewis glared at him and tried to bring the eel closer, but the other ghost was slippery and evaded all his attempts. 

“You have no idea,” he said. “The fear thissss one hidesss. The raw panic, the horror, the angsssst and desssspair.” The ghost let out an honest to god giggle and squirmed in Lewis’ hold. “He’s ssssimply ssscrumptioussssss.”

Lewis briefly flickered his gaze to Arthur. The man was curled into a tight ball, hands held over his head, eyes clenched close. 

“And it’sss all because of you,” the eel whispered conspiratorially. He grinned and wriggled, his tail coming loose from Lewis’ slacked hand.

“You have some, too,” the eel hissed, circling around Lewis now. His green, pupil-less eyes bore into Lewis’ own ghostly purple ones. “Not asss much assss the other one but, yessss, it’sss there.”

Lewis found himself unable to look away.

“There’s apprehension, yessss,” the eel continued. He sniffed the air. “Hesitation. Oh, and…” he grinned widely, eyes narrowing. “Oh, that’ssss simply mouthwatering. The sssssuspicion, oh, I haven’t tassssted that in _decadesssss_.”

He circled more, coming closer. Lewis saw himself on a cliff, saw nothing but green surrounding him. Green mist, green crystals, green eyes, green, green, green-

A green hand snaked out of the mist and he was falling, falling, fear gripping his chest and he couldn’t breath. Green, more green, and Arthur standing above him, green face twisted in a sick smile.

“And, oh, thisss isss the best part,” he snapped his mouth together hungrily.

Lewis was still falling, surrounded by green, green, so much green and Arthur and laughter and he still couldn’t breath, why couldn’t he breath, it was so green-

And then there was a sudden flash of the lightest, softest, most comforting blue he had ever seen.

“It’ssss all _hisssss_ fault!” 

The eel lunged, but Lewis snapped back to reality a second before. He ducked and the eel passed right over him. He smirked as the other entity let out an angered screech, launching forward again. Lewis easily reached out, grabbing the ghost behind the head, where it’s neck would be.

He brought the evil thing close to his face, careful to avoid the teeth. The eel glared at him. 

“That is the last time you _ever_ say something bad about my friend,” Lewis snarled. “Or feed off him, or even come _near_ him.”

He reached up with his other hand and grabbed somewhere around the eel’s middle, pulling the body tight between his arms. The eel squirmed.

“Noo!” he shrieked. “You cannot do thissss! I am older than the world! I am what goessss bump in the night! I am fear itself!”

“Then good riddance to you,” Lewis told him, and lit his hands on fire. The eel screamed, high pitched and in pain, in _fear_ , as he disintegrated into ash.

When the ghost was gone, Lewis sagged. The entire mansion seemed to get a little lighter, the candle light reaching just a bit further to make a difference. Even the sky around the house turned a bit bluer, less grey than before.

It took a moment to remember Arthur.

Lewis snapped his head around to where Arthur was. He was still in the fetal position, eyes closed and shaking violently.

Quickly, Lewis made his way over, hovering over his friend. He knelt down, pressing his skeleton hand to Arthur’s shoulder.

The reaction was instantaneous. Arthur’s eyes flew open and he jerked out of Lewis’ grip, shoving himself backwards. He looked up slowly, eyes landing on Lewis’ head, and his breathing, already too fast, increased.

“Arthur?”

“Don’t-” Arthur gasped. “Don’t-don’t…”

Lewis stared, Arthur stared, and the living one breathed enough for the both of them.

Slowly, Lewis moved forward. But Arthur scrambled backwards, pressing himself against the wall like _he_ was the ghost and was trying to phase through it.

“Arthur, it’s okay,” Lewis said. “It’s me.”

“No, no, no,” Arthur stammered. His eyes were wide, his entire body trembling.

Lewis stopped, realizing his advancement was only making things worse. Arthur stared at him, chest heaving as he tried and failed to get his breathing under control.

“The ghost is gone,” Lewis said. “I killed him.”

Arthur didn’t seem to hear him.

It was then that Lewis came up with an idea. Maybe Arthur was frightened because he still looked like a skeleton. He quickly projected, making himself look normal.

“It’s okay, see?” Lewis grinned. “No more scary things, Art!”

The wail that Arthur let out was the last thing Lewis expected. 

“That… that’s-that’s… worse…” Arthur gasped. His legs gave out from under him and he collapsed against the wall.

Lewis lurched forward to try and catch the man, but Arthur flinched away, curling into himself. He ducked his head, wrapping his arms around his middle as if to shield himself.

Lewis paused. Arthur was still scared, still anxious, still _panicked_ , and he had absolutely no idea what to do because _he_ was the one causing it.

For the first time in a long time, Lewis felt absolutely useless.

He floated there, thinking, staring at a crumbling Arthur. He thought back to everything he had been through, everything that the eel had shown him, everything he had seen; the moment he was afraid the most in his life.

And then he thought of what that eel must have been showing Arthur, who was scared of his own shadow at times. Arthur, who was terrified of ghosts. Arthur, who had been possessed. Arthur, who had been forced to watch as something took control of his body and pushed his best friend over the edge of a cliff, killing him.

The very thought made _Lewis_ wince.

He could only imagine what Arthur was thinking, was reliving, right now.

It made sense as to why his human projection only served to make him more nervous.

Lewis was at a lost as to what to do.

“Okay, Arthur,” he said softly, fading into his regular skeleton form. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to go find Vivi and Mystery, they’ll know how to-”

Arthur lurched up, his breathing only, impossibly, increasing even more. His eyes were wild and terrified. “No!”

Lewis stopped, staring at his friend. Arthur gazed back at him, then curled into himself again.

“Please… please,” he stammered. Between his breaths, he managed to get out what he wanted to say. “Please stay." 

Arthur sounded so small, so lost, that Lewis could do nothing but agree. But when he got closer to the man, Arthur flinched away again.

He wanted Lewis to stay, but he was still afraid of him.

It was only then that Lewis realized he was more afraid of being left alone with his thoughts than with the object of them.

So, Lewis did what he could. He sat cross-legged, floating a few inches above the floor and a few feet from the blond. Arthur watched him wearily, still breathing too fast.

But they sat in silence for a long, long time. Lewis had no idea how long, but soon, Arthur’s breathing slowed, his posture slumped, he sagged against the wall.

“Thanks." 

Lewis glanced over to Arthur, who had his head tipped back against the wall, looking at him through the slits of his eyes. 

“You’re welcome,” he replied warmly.

They sat in the quiet for another moment before Lewis began to speak again.

“Do you want to t-”

He was cut off as the door to the room flew open and Mystery bounded in, face twisted in rage and snarling. He stopped short when he saw Arthur and Lewis, one ear twitching back as he tilted his head.

“Lew?” 

Vivi was not far behind, and when she saw Lewis, she ran to him. Lewis embraced her when she jumped in her arms.

“I thought we lost you again,” she muttered.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mystery gently nudging a guilty-looking Arthur’s hand.

It was still shaking slightly, Lewis noted, before his vision was filled with nothing but the warm blue of Vivi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come visit me at [my tumblr](http://dontfeeddaelves.tumblr.com/)! If you have a specific prompt you'd like to see for these guys, let me know and I'll see what I can do!


	4. Stuck Here to Decay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One night at Freddy's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anon wanted a Five Nights at Freddy's crossover, I've had this on the mind for a while, so I wrote it.
> 
> I'm actually proud with how it came out.
> 
> Not beta'd or proof read.

“I don’t want to do this.”

Vivi rolled her eyes at Lewis as Arthur’s voice came over the radio. Lewis grinned.

“Yes, we heard you the first nine times,” she said.

On camera, Arthur shifted awkwardly in his chair and pulled at the collar of his uniform. He peered at the screens in front of him nervously.

“Then why am I still doing it?” he asked.

“Because you’re the only one that can,” Vivi told him.

“Not true,” Arthur said. “You could do it." 

“And leave the job of actually chasing down these things to you? I don’t think so.”

“But I’m _always_ bait,” Arthur whined, sitting back in the chair and crossing his arms over his chest. “Why couldn’t Lewis be bait for once?”

“I think they’ll be able to tell I’m a ghost,” Lewis chuckled into the radio in Vivi’s hand.

“We don’t know for sure, though.”

“So let’s test this before I become hamburger meat!” Arthur cried, flailing slightly in his seat.

Vivi sighed. “Arthur, you’re going to be fine. We can see you on camera, we’ve got a live feed from _your_ cameras, and Lewis can fly in before things get too bad.” 

“Too bad?!” Arthur screeched, voice reaching octaves Lewis didn’t existed.

Besides him, Vivi winced. “Okay, wrong choice of words…” she murmured to herself. Lewis concentrated and then took the radio from her hands.

“I won’t let anything at all happen to you, okay, buddy?” he said.

“Can Mystery at least stay with me?” Arthur asked after a short pause.

Lewis didn’t know if he should feel offended at the lack of response to his assurance, or worried that Arthur didn’t seem to believe him.

He looked over to where the dog was curled up in the back of the van. Mystery had his head down and his eyes closed, but Lewis could see his ears twitching every which way and noticed how tense he was. He was not going to suggest that the dog wasn’t paying attention, nor ignoring anything they said.

But Vivi was shaking her head, forgetting for a moment that Arthur couldn’t see them. She took the radio back. 

“No,” she told their friend. “It needs to be you, and you alone, Arthur.”

The blond let out a choked sound and then all was quiet for a minute.

“I _really_ don’t want to do this, guys…” he said in a whisper.

Vivi sighed for the millionth time and shoved the radio at Lewis, growing impatient with the other man’s complaints. She turned and focused on the cameras, studying each and every room carefully.

Lewis frowned and spoke into the speaker. “It’s okay, Arthur,” he said.

“No, it’s not,” Arthur whimpered. “I’m always the one who has to do this stuff. You _know_ I don’t like spooky things, why do you make do this?”

“You knew what you were signing up for when you said yes to this thing,” Lewis told him.

“I thought it would just be a little road trip!” Arthur cried. “I’d wait in the car while you two did your thing! I’m pretty sure my health insurance hates me!”

Lewis winced slightly. Okay, so maybe they put Arthur into dangerous situations more than not. And after the cave, that feeling of loathing about anything ghost related had only increased.

“Look, this is a big job, Art,” Lewis said gently. He saw Vivi lean forward to peer at a screen. “We’re getting paid a lot for this. Think about it, we can rent a motel room for a few nights, get the van fixed the way you want to, eat somewhere nice instead on the road for a change.”

Arthur was silent. Lewis glanced at the screen and saw him fiddling with the radio in his hands, clearly thinking.

“Fine,” he grumbled after a moment. “But only for the van.” 

Lewis chuckled. Of course that’s the main thought on his mind. He _loved_ that old thing, more than Lewis or Vivi could understand.

“Everything’s going to be fine,” Lewis reassured. “Trust me. I’ve got your back, buddy.”

On screen, Arthur nodded. Vivi glanced at Lewis and nodded once, smiling softly. Lewis returned it and handed over the radio, settling in behind her to properly see the camera images. Behind him, Mystery’s dog tags chimed softly.

“Okay, Arthur,” Vivi said, her tone professional. On screen, Arthur straightened up in his chair. “We’re all set here. Whenever you’re ready, just go ahead and see if you notice anything off in the cameras.” 

“Got it,” Arthur replied. Lewis had known him long enough to pick up on the faint trace of fear that still lingered in his voice. 

They only had two screens in the back of the van. One on Vivi’s laptop, the other on Arthur’s. One of the screens was hooked up to the same frequency of the camera’s in the building. The other showed a live feed of Arthur’s station, so Vivi and Lewis could keep an eye on him during the mission.

Unfortunately, that meant that the only way they could see what the other cameras shot was if Arthur switched between them manually. Which was why he was currently posing as the night watchman instead of sitting safely with them inside the van.

When the clock finally struck midnight, Arthur took a deep breath that Lewis could hear through the radio, and began clicking through the cameras. 

After a while of complete silence, he spoke.

“I don’t see anything…” he said.

“It’s been ten minutes,” Vivi deadpanned.

“Good enough for me,” Arthur replied hastily. “Let’s call it a night, go out for pizza, I’ll even spring for it, so-”

“Wait, hold on,” Lewis said. “Arthur, go back to the show stage.”

“Why?” Arthur squeaked, but did as he was told.

“Weren’t there three animatronics?” Lewis asked.

Vivi squinted at the screen, then her eyes widened. “The duck’s missing.”

“Excuse me?” Arthur yelped. “What did you just say?”

Lewis grabbed the radio. “Arthur, stay there. Try clicking through the cameras again, see if you can find the duck.”

There was no reply from the blond, but a moment later, different room feeds were flying past the screen. When Arthur let out a startled scream, Lewis looked up from where he was focused on his friend.

The duck animatronic was standing in the middle of the party room, mouth open in a grotesque smile.

Arthur was frozen in place. He let out a small whimper.

“Arthur, listen,” Lewis said. “We’re not gonna come get you yet, okay?”

“Why not?” Arthur practically sobbed.

“Because you’re not in any immediate danger yet,” Vivi told him.

“Danger?!” Arthur shrieked. “That thing _moved_ , Vi! It moved _closer to me_.”

Lewis looked at the blue clad girl, raising an eyebrow. He knew how scared Arthur must be at this moment, but this was Vivi’s gig. And if she said she wasn’t done, and that Arthur was fine for the time being, then…

“Just wait a little longer, buddy,” Lewis said in what he hoped was a reassuring tone.

“Man,” Arthur groaned. 

But he did go back to clicking through the cameras.

Nothing happened for a long while besides the duck moving back into the staging area. It was almost two in the morning before anything else odd occurred.

Except this time, when Arthur saw it, he let out a high-pitched scream.

“What?” Vivi cried, leaning closer to the screen. “Arthur, what is it?!”

But Arthur ignored her, dropping his radio and using both hands to slam the button that closed the door to his right. He stood there, hunched over the desk, and heaved out huge breaths. Mystery let out a low growl and stood, padding over to the duo, glaring at the screens.

“Arthur, talk to us, man,” Lewis said. 

“It. _Moved_.” Arthur’s voice was shaking, as was his hand when he finally picked up the radio.

“We knew that already,” Vivi replied.

“No, Vivi,” Arthur whispered. “It moved so that it’s _right outside the door_.”

Vivi bit her lip and turned to look at Lewis. He shrugged.

“Arthur, I need you to access the cameras again.”

“No way, dude, get me the hell out out of here.”

“Not yet,” Vivi insisted.

“Not yet?!” Arthur’s voice had reached octaves that Lewis didn’t think was possible. “Vivi, that thing is literally ten feet from me!”

“You’ve got the door shut and at least fifty percent power left,” Vivi told him. “We can do this.” 

“Great, so _you_ come in here with the homicidal mechanical animals!”

“You’ve got a metal arm, maybe they’ll think you’re friendly.”

“ _Not helping, Lewis_.”

“It’s a legitimate strategy.”

“I don’t care! I don’t want to be here!”

“Arthur, just switch the cameras!” Vivi screamed.

On screen, Arthur turned to glare at them through the camera lens. He angrily grabbed the mouse and began to click through the rooms again. When he flicked over the hall right outside his room, Lewis cringed at the image of the duck, looking inside the window, watching Arthur.

It wasn’t until he passed over all the cameras completely and started going over them again that Lewis caught it.

“Arthur,” he said slowly.

“What?” his friend snapped.

Lewis honestly debated about not telling Arthur, just to save him from becoming even more terrified than he already was. But then the thought of his safety overruled that and Lewis concluded that he had no choice. Not if Arthur wanted to live.

He’d leave that little smidge out, though.

“Arthur, I don’t mean to alarm you,” Lewis said. The other man let out a pathetic moan at that, “but I think the bunny is missing…”

Arthur was visibly shaking on camera as he switched between screen. He jumped when the bunny was revealed to be in the room adjacent to his, and slammed the other door closed.

The duck had moved though, back into the party room.

“Can you come get me now?” Arthur’s voice was small. 

Mystery looked pointedly at Lewis, Lewis looked at Vivi, Vivi looked at the screen, and then became white as a sheet.

“Arthur close the doors!” she yelled.

“What, why?!”

“Close the doors!” Vivi launched from her chair and banged out of the van.

“I’ve only got five percent left, they won’t work!”

“Mystery, Lewis, come _on_ , we’ve got to _go_!”

“What is happening?!” 

As Mystery bounded quickly after Vivi, Lewis glanced at the cameras again. His eyes widened when he saw the screen.

The curtain in pirate cove was swishing, glowing eyes staring back at him before everything went black.

Arthur had lost power.

Like a flash, Lewis burst outside. Without waiting for them, he quickly flew past Vivi and Mystery, who was snarling as he ran, the hair on his back on end. Lewis easily phased through the walls, heading straight to the security room where Arthur was.

Arthur was backed against the far wall, staring in horror at the fox animatronic that slowly approached him. 

Lewis glared and tackled the thing, forcing all his energy on keeping it away from Arthur.

The two tangled on the ground for a moment before the fox got up, let out a an ear-splitting screech, and ran back down the hall.

Or, tried to at least.

Vivi and Mystery had arrived, and as soon as Mystery caught sight of the thing, he growled, barked once, and with one last snarl, launched himself forward, clamping his teeth around the fox’s arm.

The fox shook, trying to get away, but Vivi surged forward and tackled it to the ground. Lewis held him down, Vivi stood up, and fished a piece of paper out of her pocket. She brushed her bangs out of her face before beginning to recite the exorcism. 

Her voice rose to be heard as the thing began to scream, louder and louder, and the thrashing increased to a point where even Lewis was worried he wouldn’t be able to hold on.

But then there was another set of hands on the thing, and Lewis glanced up to see Arthur. The blond was white as could be, tear tracks down his face, and shaking with fear, but he gave Lewis a nervous and determined smile, putting any strength he had left in trying to hold the thing down.

A few moments later, it was done.

A small child stood before the group, looking no older than seven, and covered in blood. She looked up at the gang and her lip began to wobble.

“I’m sorry,” she sobbed. “I’m sorry. I just wanted a grown up to help me, I’m sorry!”

Vivi sighed, dropping down to her knees to look the kid in the eyes.

“Hey, it’s okay,” she said. “It’s alright. You’re safe now.”

The little girl sniffed, wiping a sleeve over her face. She nodded at Vivi. “Can I see my mommy now?" 

Vivi looked at Lewis, at a loss of what to do. Lewis floated over, clapping a quick, reassuring hand on Arthur’s shoulder. He, too, knelt to be level with the girl.

“Sure, thing,” he said. He held out a hand. “I’ll take you to see her, okay?”

The child nodded, and Lewis stood. “My name’s Lewis, what’s yours?”

“Jetta,” the girl hiccupped. “You float.”

Lewis nodded. “Yeah, I do. Just like you.”

“That’s cool,” Jetta said, a small grin forming behind her tears.

Lewis smiled. “It sure is. Ready to go?”

Jetta nodded.

He turned to look at his friends. Mystery was next a still shivering Arthur, growling softly. Vivi scooted closer to them, grabbing Arthur’s hand and squeezing it. Arthur looked at her gratefully.

“I’ll be right back,” he told them. 

“Good,” Vivi nodded. “Because we’ve got more work to do.”

Lewis nodded as well, and, with Jetta in tow, took her towards the warm, light blue light of the afterlife.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come visit me at [my tumblr](http://dontfeeddaelves.tumblr.com/)! If you have a specific prompt you'd like to see for these guys, let me know and I'll see what I can do!


	5. Dropping Glasses (Just to Hear Them Break)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A mission goes horribly, horribly wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anon wanted possessed Arthur and then him freaking out afterwards. HOWEVER, I'm making this a two parter because I'm still sticking with the prompts and I've got a bunch I want to work on, so I split it in half.
> 
> Kinda holds the suspense anyways.

Vivi had no idea what was happening as Mystery let out a vicious growl and lunged at Arthur.

Or, where Arthur had been just a second ago.

Instead, he was standing right besides her, and Vivi took a startled step backwards as Mystery got to his feet. Lewis watched in equal confusion.

“Arthur?” she asked.

The blond smirked at her, an eerie air about him that made Vivi shiver. Something was wrong, something was very wrong, and Arthur was leaning down towards her. He let his chin rest against her shoulder and turned his face into her hair, taking a deep breath.

“Ah,” he exhaled. “Mmm, that’s just so good.”

The blue-clad girl took a step away from him, but Arthur matched her movement. Mystery let out a loud, terrifying back, growling.

“I’m onto your tricks now, _dog_ ,” Arthur said with a grin. “I won’t let you get the jump on me again.”

“Arthur?” 

The blond looked over at Lewis, who was floating a few inches off the ground by Mystery. He looked confused, worried, unsure, the same things that Vivi now felt.

Maybe she should have listened when both he and Mystery had hesitated in coming inside the old asylum…

Her attention was brought back as Arthur moved behind her, draping his arms around her shoulders and resting his chin on top of her head. His hands hung loose, dangling near Vivi’s neck.

“Oh, Lewis, you look…”

Vivi couldn’t see what he was doing, but if she had to guess, Arthur seemed to be looking the ghost up and down.

“Very dead.”

“Arthur, what’s wrong?” Lewis asked. He glanced at Mystery, who’s growling had remained a constant background noise. If Vivi didn’t know any better, she could have sworn that he’d grown in the few minutes since standing back up. 

“Absolutely nothing,” Arthur replied. His voice was off, his tone was different, and for probably the first time in her life, Vivi felt a real stab of fear.

“You… something’s wrong…” Lewis said, floating closer. 

But as soon as he did, Arthur’s hands jerked so quickly and suddenly Lewis halted. Vivi’s eyes widened as she felt a loose grip on the juncture where her shoulders met her neck. Mystery’s growling had increased in volume and he took a step closer.

Something was most definitely wrong. Ever since they’d set foot in the old insane asylum, Arthtur had been acting off. At first, she had thought that he was just more scared than usual, but after a while, Vivi concluded that wasn’t the case.

After they’d been locked in the experimentation room, with no other way out, Vivi realized that Arthur was strangely calm.

He was leaning against the back wall, and when Vivi had approached him, to check to see if he was okay, Mystery had let out a single warning growl before attacking.

And now, Vivi was sure that something was wrong with Arthur.

“Oh, don’t worry, darlin’,” Arthur cooed much too close to her ear. Vivi was frozen in his slightly threatening grip, the metal cool on her over-heated skin. Lewis’ face darkened, purple flames beginning to sprout around him. “I’ve got everything under control.”

Vivi shivered again, glancing to Mystery. The dog was no longer a dog, but a huge six-tailed fox. She blinked, believing it to be a thing of her imagination, but when she opened her eyes again, nothing had changed.

“You’re not Arthur,” Lewis surmised, narrowing his eyes. He glared at the blond, eyes flicking down to where his hands rested on Vivi briefly.

“Took you long enough.” Vivi could _hear_ the smirk in his voice. 

Mystery snarled and crouched, getting ready to leap forward, but he paused, barring his teeth when Arthur’s hands tightened ever-so-slightly around Vivi’s neck.

“I don’t think I’d do that if I were you,” Arthur said. “I mean, she’s got such a _pretty_ neck.”

The bark Mystery let out was terrifying, drool dripping from his jaw and splashing the floor. Vivi darted her eyes to Lewis, who had abandoned his human persona and had reverted back to his skeleton form. He looked furious, angry flames dancing around his skull, eyes lacking any semblance of pupils. 

“Let her go,” he said.

“I don’t think so,” Arthur replied. “I learned my lesson last time. A shame you three didn’t. After all, you hunt ghosts for a living. You’d have thought that you’d realize that one of your ‘best friends’,” Arthur’s voice was full of contempt, “was actually being possessed.”

“But Mystery took care of that back in the cave,” Vivi spoke up, her first words since this whole thing had started.

“Oh,” Arthur sighed. “Oh, you poor, misguided soul.”

Mystery growled.

“Mystery tore off his arm,” Lewis said. “That was the point of possession. You should be gone.”

“Funny thing about demons,” Arthur drawled. “Once we pick our host, we’re not leaving.”

“Not if we exorcise you,” Lewis said, eyes narrowing.

“Oh, but I could just find another host instantly,” Arthur shot back easily. “I’m not your average demon, Lewis. And this vessel, well…” he released his metal arm from Vivi, holding it out to exam it. He turned his wrist back and forth. “It’s a little damaged, don’t you think?”

Lewis’ flames increased in height. The air in the room seemed to battling for control of the temperature. Vivi’s front was covered in warmth, while her back remained icy cold.

“Besides,” Arthur continued. “I’ve got my eyes set on a new target anyways. I mean, it was fun making Arthur push you off that cliff,” Vivi’s breath hitched, “but he’s just so-what’s the word- _broken_ that it’s even a surprise to _me_ why he still follows you two around. I mean, he’s terrified of his own shadow.”

“Arthur’s our friend, that’s all that matters,” Vivi defended, growing angry. Sure, she might have gotten annoyed at Arthur at times, but they were still friends. The three of them had always been friends, always would be. Lewis himself, right here, right now, was proof of that.

“Power of friendship, together forever, wah,” Arthur mocked. He waved his metal arm in the air, and Mystery watched it closely. “This guy’s so beat up, you have no idea.  I mean, have you ever really thought about what _you_ put him through on a daily basis?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lewis scowled.

“It _means_ ,” Arthur sighed impatiently, “that he’s so scared of everything that moves, but he trusts you so completely-for reasons that baffle me, the human mind is such a _confusing_ thing-that he just allows himself to be dragged into your stupid shenanigans day and night. Guy’s got more ulcers than anyone I’ve ever possessed before.”

Vivi swallowed guiltily. From the slight change in Lewis’ posture, she could see that he felt the same way.

“Oh, and then I possessed him, made him kill you, he got his arm torn off for his troubles, _you_ tried to kill _him_ , and all the while, I’ve been sitting inside him, giving him advice on what to do with his life." 

“Manipulating him,” Lewis growled.

“Well,” Arthur replied. “I wouldn’t say _that_. Everything Arthur did was his own decision. Except killing you, that was just me having fun.”

Mystery barked and Lewis glared and Vivi was frozen.

“He’s had to live with that, by the way,” Arthur-no, not Arthur, the demon possessing him said off-handedly. “He thinks you hate him. You too, Lewis, he fears you more than anything in the world.”

Vivi’s heart clenched. She knew that Arthur felt guilty, but the fact that the demon that made him do it was living inside of him this whole time, that he was completely useless when it came to getting it out… Vivi shuddered to think what that must have been like.

“Get out of him,” she whispered. 

“Oh, sweetie, that’ll only happen when I want it to,” Demon Arthur said. He leaned down close to her ear again. “And then I’ll be inside the only one of this trio that has any brains.”

“Get the hell out of my friend.” Vivi was aware that her voice was shaking, but she didn’t care. She hated this demon, hated what he was doing, what he had done, what he had made Arthur.

She turned her head to glare at him, and he merely smirked at her. The expression was foreign on his face which was tinged with green. His eyes were the same shade of the mist in the cave that night, and the only thing that Vivi could think of was how orange clashed horribly with the color.

She trembled as Demon Arthur brought his metal hand up to her shoulder, trailing it lightly down her arm. Lewis’ flames spiked violently in height and Mystery barked in a vicious warning.

“Now, now,” Demon Arthur breathed. His breath was hot on her neck. “What do you say?”

Vivi clenched her eyes shut. If it meant saving Arthur, saving the one person who probably deserved to be saved the most in this entire world, then she would do it.

“Vivi,” Lewis called in warning.

“Just leave him alone,” Vivi pleaded.

Demon Arthur’s smirk grew as his hand traveled to her side, then her hip. “You forgot to say the magic word.”

“Now, Mystery!” 

At Vivi’s command, Mystery let out a loud snarl and leapt at Arthur, clamping his jaw around the metal.

There was a horrible screech and Demon Arthur screamed, jerking and pushing Vivi away. She stumbled back and turned, eyes widening at the sight of Mystery attempting to rip the arm from her friend. She briefly wondered if this was the same as that first time years ago before Lewis was in front of her, clamping gentle hands on both of her arms.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

Vivi nodded. “I’m fine. But we have to help Arthur.” 

“I think I might know how,” Lewis said. “I need you to hold on to him, though.”

Mystery squealed and both Lewis and Vivi jerked their head up, looking at the scene. Blood dripped from a long gash on Mystery’s nose, but Arthur’s metal arm dangled in his mouth. 

“What are you gonna do?” Vivi asked, worry creeping into her voice. She didn’t want to hurt the blond.

A flame appeared in Lewis’ hand and Vivi shuddered. He clamped a gently hand on her shoulder. “I’ll be gentle,” he promised.

Vivi nodded, and they both turned to wear Demon Arthur was glaring at Mystery.

“You filthy animal,” he spat. “How dare you! I am more powerful than you could ever know!”

Lewis gave a small nod to Vivi and while he moved forward, she silently crept towards the back.

“Doesn’t look like it,” Lewis taunted. “I mean, you are missing a limb.”

Demon Arthur glared at him. Vivi moved into position.

“What, you going to shoot me?” He smiled a twisted grin at Lewis. “Can’t do that without hurting your friend.” 

Vivi leapt, wrapping her arms around Demon Arthur, pinning his arm to his side. But he was still too fast, and he spun in her grip. He grabbed her arm, twisting it and Vivi heard a pop and screamed. She fell to the floor, tears springing to her eyes and Mystery jumped at him. Demon Arthur back handed the fox across the face and Mystery went flying in the air, landing on the other side of the room.

He didn’t get back up.

Vivi struggled to breath through the pain. As she watched, Lewis erupted into flames and surged forward. He managed to catch Demon Arthur around the neck, large hand encircling the pale flesh easily. Demon Arthur dangled in his grip, hand coming up to tug uselessly at Lewis’ iron grip. 

“You _hurt_ her!” Lewis screamed. “How _dare_ you!”

Demon Arthur gasped for breath and Lewis, in a loss of control that Vivi would have been surprised at if she wasn’t hurting so badly at the moment, slammed him against the cement wall.

And then Demon Arthur grinned.

Lewis blinked, then narrowed his eyes. He slammed Demon Arthur again and then loosened his hand enough for him to speak.

“You going to kill me?” Demon Arthur asked with a smirk. “You kill me, you kill Arthur too.”

Lewis glared and raised his hand-

“He wants you to, you know.”

-and paused. He narrowed his eyes at the demon. 

“It’s true,” Demon Arthur choked out. “He wishes that you would just kill him. That way he wouldn’t have to live in fear of you. And besides, doesn’t he _deserve_ it, after _what he did to you_.”

“I forgave Arthur,” Lewis growled.

“Oh, please,” Demon Arthur scoffed. “Like it’s that easy to-” he broke off with a scream as Lewis shoved a burning hand into his stomach.

Vivi winced, trying to stand. Demon Arthur may have been possessing a body, but those were still Arthur’s screams. Tears were streaming down his face and he seized in Lewis’ hold. 

Lewis had a look of concentration on his face, and after a moment, he withdrew his hand.

A dark green orb hovered above his palm. Arthur slumped in his grip and Lewis released him. Arthur fell to the ground in a crumpled heap, unmoving. Vivi slowly dragged herself over to him.

Lewis gripped the orb with two hands and then clapped them together. The orb shattered, pieces clattering to the ground.

Vivi reached Arthur and, pushing through the pain, gathered him in her lap. She quickly pressed two shaking fingers to his neck, searching for a pulse.

She sighed in relief when she found one, soft and slow, but there.

“Is he…?”

Vivi glanced up at Lewis, who was looking at her worriedly. She gave him a weak smile and he deflated. He went over them both and gently gathered them in his arms. Vivi cried out in pain as the movement jostled her arm and Lewis muttered his apologies.

Quickly, he flew over to Mystery, who had reverted back to a small dog, and once all three members were wrapped in Lewis’ embrace, he began to phase them all out of the asylum.

Vivi wasn’t sure if there were actually ghosts there or if the shapes were just her pain-filled mind, but the last thing she saw before she lost consciousness was Arthur’s metal arm lying pathetically on the ground, a pool of blood surrounding it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually hate how this came out. I need to work on my Vivi skills and it's really choppy. And this just feels really weak to me, I'm sorry anon. The next part will be better, I promise!
> 
> Unfortunately not taking any more prompt at this time. i've got a ton that I'm working on for you all, and there's A LOT. However, if you still want to pop in and say hi or discuss headcanons with me, my tumblr is [right here](http://dontfeeddaelves.tumblr.com/)!


	6. Dropping Glasses (Just to Hear Them Break) Part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lewis wonders why he keeps watch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 for anon!
> 
> Not beta'd or proof read

Lewis was on first watch at the hospital.

Technically, he was on all watches at the hospital. Being a ghost did have its perks sometimes. He didn’t have to sleep, which allowed Vivi to get some much needed rest.

She was curled up on the second empty bed in the room, a healed Mystery dozing softly in her arms. He had recovered miraculously quickly, but Lewis supposed that’s because he was more of a demon than anything. There was still a bit of blood on his muzzle, but Lewis didn’t feel comfortable wiping it off.

He wished that he could hold her, comfort her, but the doctors had said that rest was the best thing for her at the moment. They had reset her dislocated shoulder and pumped her full of painkillers. She had drifted off into sleep quickly, and even though the sling made it awkward, she at least looked peaceful. 

Besides, his place, right now, was with the other member of their group.

Arthur occupied the first bed, hooked up to monitors that beeped a consistent background noise. His pulse was weak but steady, a good thing, the doctors had told them. His heart had been under severe stress, and his brain was going crazy with activity at the moment.

But Lewis couldn’t help but feel that he was partly to blame, the things the demon had said revolving back and forth around in his head. He knew that Arthur was terrified most of the time, but the fact that it had taken a physical toll on the blonde’s body was something Lewis had never considered before.

Stomach ulcers, the doctors had diagnosed. His blood pressure was impossibly high for someone his age that they had mentioned giving him medicine for it. But of course, that would have to be monitored in case it interfered with his other pills.

Lewis didn’t even know that Arthur was taking anxiety medication.

He supposed that he shouldn’t have been surprised. But Arthur had never mentioned it, and neither Lewis nor Vivi had ever seen him actually take the medicine before.

With a sigh, Lewis shook himself, returning his gaze back to his friend. Arthur was paler than normal, dark circles under his eyes that made Lewis wonder briefly if he had actually been getting enough sleep. There were red marks around his neck from where Lewis had grabbed him, and the doctors said that his back was bruised. Not badly, but he’d be sore. Luckily, no ribs were broken and there was no internal bleeding.

The end of Arthur’s prosthetic arm had been removed, the jagged pieces from where Mystery had torn it off disposed of. Instead, the nurse had wrapped his stump in bandages to make sure that no damage came to the exposed nerves. The doctors had called in an expert, but Arthur had modified his arm so much that they were baffled, unable to understand how the thing worked, let alone try to give him a new one.

Lewis smiled softly. That was Arthur for you.

He wondered what else Arthur had done that he hadn’t told anyone else. Lewis wondered when it had come to this.

Arthur and he had been friends for a long, long time. Not since they were little, but maybe junior high school. Lewis remembered when he had been the new kid in school, how everyone had wanted to be his friend but he had been drawn to the quiet kid who was fiddling with scrap metals at the lunch table.

He and Arthur had been quick and unusual friends. They didn’t really have much in common and came from completely different backgrounds. Arthur was scared of everything and Lewis didn’t understand a flathead screwdriver from a Phillips, but they worked well together.

They’d had sleepovers, they played games, Arthur let him help build crazy gadgets, Lewis had been the first allowed the drive the van, Arthur had instantly attached himself to Mystery, and they were thicker than two peas in a pod.

Somewhere, that had changed. It hadn’t been when they’d met Vivi, hadn’t been when they left to form the Mystery Skulls, hadn’t been when he and Vivi had started dating. It was after. It was sometime after all that, when Lewis couldn’t recall Arthur being by his side anymore. When late nights driving in the van with ridiculous “would you rather” questions changed to silence or the radio. There was no offer to help him with the van, and Lewis honestly couldn’t remember when he and Arthur had seen one of their token horrible movies and made fun of it the entire time. 

Lewis would kill to find out what had happened, what had changed, why Arthur felt the need to hide certain things, important things from him anymore.

He wanted to know when Arthur had changed his emergency contact name on his forms from Lewis to back to his parents. Apparently it had been like that for years. 

Lewis ran his eyes over Arthur again, wondering if there was a way to get him his metal arm back, when his gaze landed on amber orbs. He blinked, shocked, and he and Arthur stared at each other for a long, silent moment.

It was Arthur who broke the silence.

“Did I fall off a building again?”

His voice was hoarse and Lewis wasn’t sure if it was because he hadn’t spoken in a while or if it was his sore throat. Either way, he stood, moving closer.

“Hey, Art,” he said. “How’re you feeling?”

Arthur didn’t try to get up, a true testament to how he was feeling. Either that, or it was the medication. 

“Like I got thrown from and then run over by the van,” he replied. “What happened?”

Lewis frowned. “You don’t remember?”

Arthur blinked sleepily. “Remember what?”

Fiddling with the sleeves of his shirt, Lewis paused. “Arthur…”

The other man stared at him with a curious look and squirmed a little him the bed. He stopped after a moment, then lolled his head to the side, gazing at where his arm was missing. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“That’s unexpected,” he murmured. He rolled his head back to Lewis, eyes taking in where he seemed to be. He looked even more confused until he let his head fall to the other side where Vivi and Mystery were.

He blinked once, face blank, before Lewis could see the full force of what had happened slam into him.

Without any regard for himself, Arthur shot into a sitting position, breathing heavily. The machines he was attached to began to beep alarmingly. Lewis rushed forward, pressing both hands on Arthur’s shoulders and gently lowering him back to the bed. 

Arthur let himself be guided down, eyes wide and breathes coming in short gasps. Lewis managed to get the remote and let the bed rise, allowing the man to sit up without any difficulty. Arthur leaned back against the pillows, closing his eyes.

Lewis frowned, taking a half step back. He was quiet, unsure of what to do or say, when rustling from the next bed caught his hearing.

He turned and saw Vivi sitting up, rubbing her eyes sleepily. Mystery jumped down from the bed and shook himself awake.

“Lew?” she asked. “What’s-” she stopped when her eyes landed on Arthur and a smile formed on her face. “Arthur!”

She hopped down from the bed and bounded forward, arm in a sling. Lewis saw Arthur’s gaze land on it and when Mystery jumped up on his bed and Vivi went in for a hug, he flinched away.

It did not go unnoticed. Vivi stopped mid-hug and Mystery backpedaled so fast that Lewis had to catch him before he fell off the bed. He carefully replaced the small dog on the covers by Arthur’s feet and Vivi caught herself before she went any further. 

The room was quiet as the monitors returned to their normal levels. No one knew quite what to do, and the air was tense, unfamiliar, stale. Arthur stared at his lap, and everyone else stared at Arthur.

“Arthur.”

When Lewis called his name, he was unsurprised that the blond didn’t react.

“Arthur, look at me.”

There was no response. 

Vivi perched herself on the edge of the bed, and Arthur immediately scooted as far as he could away from her. She reached out and grabbed his wrist, and he winced, tried to pull free. But Vivi only gripped tighter.

“Talk to us, Arthur,” she said softly. “Tell us what’s wrong.”

But Arthur merely looked the other direction.

Strategically, Lewis moved to stand there. All bases were covered now, and Arthur would have to look at one of them.

Arthur seemed to realize this and he scowled, turning to his lap again.

Lewis placed a hand on his other shoulder, the one without the arm, and Arthur shuddered at the contact. Lewis moved his hand to the juncture where his neck met his shoulder and, mindful of the bruises, squeezed gently. His thumb began to rub soothing circles in Arthur’s collarbone.

With that single, familiar, comforting gesture, Lewis watched as Arthur’s defenses crumbled. He curled in on himself and Mystery let out a soft cry, crawling forward and settling himself in Arthur’s lap.

“I’m sorry…” he whispered.

Vivi met Lewis’ eyes over the blonde’s head and frowned. “What for?” 

Arthur mumbled in response.

“What?”

“For hurting you!” Arthur cried, whipping his head up and scowling at them both. He wrenched his hand from Vivi’s and in a smooth, solid motion, shoved Mystery away from him and dislodged Lewis’ hand. 

Lewis frowned himself. He twisted his hand in Arthur’s grip, but Arthur was having none of it. He flailed a little and Lewis grabbed his wrist, holding it gently but tightly. Arthur glared at him and tugged, but it was no use; Lewis had always been stronger.

“Arthur, stop,” he said.

“You’re going to injure yourself further,” Vivi agreed, worry written all over her face.

“I don’t care,” Arthur spat. Lewis blinked and Vivi gasped a little. Mystery whined. 

“You don’t mean that,” Vivi said.

He turned murderous eyes on her and Lewis briefly wondered if the demon was back.

“It doesn’t matter,” he snapped. “I already hurt you, I’m not gonna be responsible any more!”

“That wasn’t you, Arthur,” Lewis reminded him.

“It _was_ ,” Arthur insisted. He glared at Lewis. “I _hurt_ you!”

“That was the demon,” Vivi argued. “ _He_ hurt us.” 

“And we’re not that hurt,” Lewis added. “You got the most injuries, you’re the one that almost died.”

“But I _hurt_ you!” Arthur yelled. “It was _me_ who dislocated Vivi’s arm, _I_ felt it snap under _my_ hands. _I_ felt _my_ hand connect with Mystery’s head. _I_ remember trying to kill you. It was me, me, me, _me_!”

“It was the _demon_ ,” Lewis insisted. “He _used_ you. That was all _him_ , not you, understand?”

Arthur still looked unconvinced, but didn’t stop Mystery when the dog moved forward and licked at his stump. He did, however, raise his hand and gently covered the bandages with it. Mystery licked his fingers gently.

“Why didn’t you tell us that the demon was still there?” Vivi asked after a moment.

“He wouldn’t let me,” Arthur replied after a moment. “And any time I got close, he threatened to take over and kill you…” he pressed his hand to his face. “And he almost did…”

Mystery cried again, nuzzling Arthur’s hand and the blond let it fall to the dog’s head. He slowly pet the hair on Mystery’s head, soft sniffles coming from him every now and then.

“Arthur, listen to me,” Lewis said, after talking silently and intensively with Vivi over his head. “We don’t blame you for what happened, okay?”

Arthur’s head snapped up. “But I-”

Vivi held up a finger to hush him. He looked at her with wide eyes.

“We understand what happened, and it wasn’t your fault. In fact, if anything, it’s our fault.”

Arthur shook his head. “No, I-”

“Arthur, sweetie, shut the hell up,” Vivi said with a smile. 

Arthur’s mouth snapped shut.

Lewis grinned softly at her before continuing. “We know that this kind of stuff terrifies you. We should have realized that all the stress we were causing you was taking a toll on your health. You should have let us know, but we should have noticed, too.”

“You don’t have to stay with us,” Vivi said softly, “if you don’t want to. We understand, and we’ll still be friends. But if this is causing you so many problems, then maybe it’d be best if you took a break…”

Arthur was quiet following her statement. For so long, in fact, that Lewis was terrified that he would take her up on their offer. He didn’t want to lose Arthur, of course, but if that was what he decided, there was nothing Lewis could do about it. It was Arthur’s decision, and no one else’s. 

“You guys,” Arthur said after a while, “are so stupid.”

That was the last thing that Lewis had expected. He glanced at Vivi, saw her confusion on her face, before Arthur spoke again.

“If you think I’m going let you two alone on the road without someone who knows mechanics, you’re more delusional than I am.”

Arthur looked up, met Lewis’ eyes with his own wet ones and then smiled at Vivi. The blue-clad girl squealed and gently hugged him, and Lewis was happy to see that Arthur didn’t resist. He clapped a hand on Arthur’s shoulder and Mystery’s tail wagged while he barked happily.

“The offer stands any time, man,” he told him.

Arthur nodded once, to show he understood.

But as Lewis left to go find a doctor, he knew, deep within his bones, that Arthur would never leave.

They were friends, they were family, and they stuck with each other through thick and thin.

But maybe they could just take a small, non-spooky vacation once in a while. 

As soon as Arthur was released, Lewis knew just the place.

They had all wanted to go to Disney, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup. I still hate this. No matter what I do, I can't make it better.
> 
> I'm sorry, anon.
> 
> I got lazy at the end, too.
> 
> Sigh.
> 
> Still not taking any more prompts for the moment, but if you want to stop by and say hello, [my tumblr](http://dontfeeddaelves.tumblr.com/) is always open!


	7. Abendrot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Timber!” Vivi cried as the toppled backwards.
> 
> Thankfully the snow was light and fluffy, and with a small “oomf” they landed without harm. Mystery barked again and ran up to Vivi, licking her face and the girl laughed. Lewis joined in after a moment and he untangled her legs from his shoulders, sitting up.
> 
> And was promptly hit in the face by a snowball.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Shinjutori](http://shinjutori.tumblr.com/) wanted a happy Arthur with a smidge of Jack Frost.
> 
> You can either take this as before The Cave or after, I leave it up to you, dear reader.
> 
> Not beta'd or proof read.

Vivi had pressed her face comically against the window of the van. Lewis chucked from where he was sitting next to an annoyed Arthur, who was huddled in the front seat and glaring moodily at the dashboard.

Beyond her, Mystery was rolling around in the snow, making a general mess of himself and surround landscape.

“Come on, Arthur!” Vivi’s voice was muffled, her breath forming condensation on the window. “It’s _snow_.”

But Arthur only glared harder and clutched the blanket around his shoulders more tightly.

“I think she wants you to go outside,” Lewis grinned.

“ _You_ can go play in the snow with her,” Arthur grumbled. He shivered. “ _I_ am going to stay in here.”

“It’s cold in here, too,” Lewis reminded him. “The van broke down again, remember?”

“I am aware,” Arthur snapped. “I cannot, however, fix it because it is too cold.”

Vivi pounded on the window again and Arthur’s cheeks puffed out in annoyance. 

“So you should just have some fun in the snow while we wait then,” Lewis grinned. He waved at the blue-clad girl, and Vivi waved excitedly back. She loved the snow, unlike their blond friend. 

In response, Arthur scowled. “I don’t get the appeal,” he muttered, hunkering down further. “It’s just _frozen water_. It’s dumb.”

“Arthur!” Vivi called again. “Lewis! Let’s go!” Mystery barked in agreement, still rolling around in the snow.

Lewis nodded and tried once more. “Come on, man. Just for a little while.”

But Arthur remained glaring at the van’s dash, resolutely not moving. Lewis sighed and clapped a hand on his shoulder, moving to open the passenger door.

“You’re still welcome if you change your mind,” he told the blond, climbing out. A big gust of wind smacked him in the face and Arthur squawked as some snow blew into the van.

“Shut the door, shut the door!” he cried, scrambling away from the cold. Lewis laughed and did as he was told, walking around the front to meet with Vivi. He could feel Arthur’s eyes track his movements. 

When he reached Vivi, he gathered her in his arms and pressed a quick kiss on her head. He emerged with a mouth full of hair and fuzz from her earmuffs.

She laughed and pulled away. “Couldn’t get him to come out, huh?” 

Lewis shook his head. “Nope. He’s a party pooper.”

Mystery bounded up to them, covered in snow, and grabbed the mitten that hung loosely from Vivi’s coat. He began to tug at it, making small, playful snarling sounds, his tail wagging furiously.

“Whoa, there!” Lewis smiled, and reach down to pick up the pup. Mystery barked and licked his face, squirming, fur matted with frozen water.

Vivi laughed and took off down the hill, a small lake at the bottom. Mystery barked again and Lewis lost his grip. The dog leapt from his arms and landed easily, barking as he chased Vivi down the snow covered mound. He easily caught up to the girl, and began to run in circles around her.

Lewis chuckled and went to follow, but paused. He glanced behind him and saw Arthur watching from the van, a thoughtful frown on his face. Lewis jerked a thumb over towards the other members of their group and raised an eyebrow in silent question, but Arthur just frowned harder and shook his head.

With a shrug, Lewis adjusted his mittens and hat and followed Vivi and Mystery. He caught up to them easily, gathering Vivi up into his arms. She squealed as he deposited her on his shoulders and began running around the edge of the lake.

“I’ll save you from the evil demon dog!” he cried. Mystery lapped at his heels, barking, tongue lolling out and flapping as he continued the chase.

“My big strong man!” Vivi shouted, and Lewis felt her weight shift. He grabbed a handful of snow and held it up to her. She took it without a seconds pause and soon, Mystery being lightly pelted with small balls of snow.

He growled, and as Lewis ran, Vivi continued. Mystery tried to catch the small globs in his mouth every time, jumping up and down. When he circled around Lewis and tried to jump at his chest, Lewis lost his footing.

“Timber!” Vivi cried as the toppled backwards.

Thankfully the snow was light and fluffy, and with a small “oomf” they landed without harm. Mystery barked again and ran up to Vivi, licking her face and the girl laughed. Lewis joined in after a moment and he untangled her legs from his shoulders, sitting up.

And was promptly hit in the face by a snowball.

Lewis blinked, shocked, snow falling from his hair and hat and face. Some wetness had fallen past his coat collar and he could feel it sliding down his chest, leaving a cold trail in its wake.

And Arthur just stood triumphantly in front of him, smirking, throwing another snowball up in the air and catching it easily.

“Arthur!” Vivi exclaimed happily. Mystery barked in greeting, tail wagging a thousand miles a minute. He ran up to the blond and started jumping around his legs.

Lewis was still in shock about the snowball.

“You changed your mind!” Vivi crowed. She threw her arms in the air, still sitting in the snow. Flakes flew off her gloves and landed on Lewis’ hat.

Arthur shrugged, staring smugly at Lewis, still juggling that damn snowball.

Lewis’ eyes narrowed.

“Oh, you are so on,” he growled.

Vivi looked at him briefly before the snowball that Arthur had in his hand smacked into her cheek. She sat stunned, blinking, and Lewis, honest-to-god giggled, hand coming up to cover his mouth as Vivi turned her gaze to him. Arthur was doubled over a few feet from him, laughing hysterically. 

Everything after that happened in a flash. Arthur was running from them, laughter trailing behind him, as Lewis and Vivi chasing after him and pelting him with snow. He skidded around a tree, taking cover, before Lewis was dodging returning fire.

“You can’t hide there forever!” Vivi shouted, snow smashing her hat off her head.

“Just try me!” Arthur called back, retreating behind the tree as Lewis lobbed one too close for comfort.

“It’s the two of us against one of you!” Lewis yelled.

“We’ve got an army!” Vivi cried, dropping to the ground and beginning to make an arsenal of snowballs. Lewis held out a hand and she unquestioningly dropped one in it.

“I’ve got a Mystery!” Arthur’s voice said. “Get ‘em, boy!”

Lewis and Vivi had just enough time to glance curiously at each other before Mystery came running at them. He jumped, tackling the two of them easily, and they all fell to the ground in a heap.

“Unfair advantage!” Vivi accused, trying to push Mystery off. The dog jumped up and down, effectively crushing the snowballs they had made.

“Don’t be a sore loser!” Arthur cried. Lewis managed to glance up to see Arthur standing over them, arms laden with snowballs, before all hell was released on top of them.

Lewis cried out, and Vivi squealed. Mystery barked some more and Arthur laughed. Lewis managed to reach out during the assault and grab a hold of Arthur’s ankle. With a squeak, Arthur was tugged down, landing heavily on the snow.

Now that all three of them were down, nothing was stopping the attack of Mystery, and he happily went from person to person, too hyped up to focus on one. He tugged on mittens, chewed on hats, nipped at boots, and Lewis struggled to sit up.

He gave up after a moment and simply lay in the snow, gazing up at the grey sky. A few snowflakes floated down around him. He lay there for a bit, catching his breath, before raising his head to look for the others.

Vivi was a few feet to his side, lazily making a snow angel, eyes closed and a happy smile on her face. Arthur was in front of in, spread eagle in the snow, Mystery sitting happily on his chest, panting.

Lewis smiled. He was close enough to touch Arthur and nudged the blonde’s foot with his own. Arthur craned his head to peer around the dog at him.

“Aren’t you glad you decided to join us?” he asked.

Arthur shrugged, but there was a small smile on his face. “Eh, it was okay.” 

Lewis raised an eyebrow. 

“Don’t get me wrong,” Arthur told him. “I still hate the cold.”

“What changed your mind?” Lewis inquired.

But Arthur merely shrugged. “Dunno. I was just sitting there and suddenly felt the need to come join you.”

“Aw,” Lewis taunted teasingly. “Did you feel left out?”

Arthur laughed. “You better believe it. No way was I gonna let you guys have all the fun.”

At those words, Vivi sat up quickly. Lewis and Arthur turned to look at her, and Lewis chuckled. Her hat was covering one eye, in danger of falling off completely. Her face was puffy with laughter and red from the cold, snow speckled in her hair. Her eyes were wide.

“Oh. My. God.”

“What?” Arthur asked.

“I can’t believe I just now remembered it!” Vivi cried, smiling.

“Remembered what?”

“It’s perfect! It explains everything, why you suddenly felt the need to have fun with us, the snow, the fight!” Vivi was practically bouncing and Lewis smiled softly.

“Vivi, what?”

She grinned at them. “Two words, guys: Jack. Frost.”

Arthur and Lewis looked at her, looked at each other, and then looked back her. Arthur raised an eyebrow.

“As in ‘nipping at your nose’?” Arthur asked. “ _That_ Jack Frost?”

Vivi nodded eagerly.

“Just a superstition,” Arthur waved off. He flopped back on the ground when a snowball landed squarely in his face. He sputtered and wiped the snow off. “No fair, Lewis, we were done!”

Lewis held his hands up. “Don’t look at me, dude. I didn’t throw it.”

“Don’t be like that,” Arthur whined. “It _had_ to be you.”

Lewis shook his head. “No, really, man. It wasn’t me.” 

“Then _who_ was it?”

“Jack Frost!” Vivi cried excitedly.

Arthur rolled his eyes. “Sure, Viv, whatever you say.” But he wrinkled his nose as a snowflake landed on it, and Lewis saw him smile softly.

And he thought, as he heard a trace of laughter that was none of theirs, that maybe Vivi was right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's probably not what you wanted! I tried, and this was the best way that it seemed to work!
> 
> Still NOT taking prompts, and I hate to do this, but if I receive any more, I will delete them! Let me get caught up with the ones I have right now, and then I will reopen the prompts. I'm working as hard as I can, so please, just be patient! (Not gonna put my tumblr on this chapter, or any futures, until I get caught up. Sorry, guys!)


	8. Dépaysement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lewis goes home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anon wanted Lewis' parents finding out that he's a skeleton ghost.
> 
> Sorry it took me so long to get a new chapter out, guys. But for your patience, this one will be a two-parter as well. I hope you enjoy the first part!
> 
> Not beta'd or proofread

Vivi and Arthur were in a stare down.

Lewis watched with amusement from the back seat, Mystery sitting, bored, on his lap.

They’d been this way for at least ten minutes, by this point.

All because Vivi had wanted to go visit home for a few days.

Arthur had flat out refused, and when Lewis had mentioned that he might like to pop in on his own family, make sure that they knew that he was a ghost, that he wasn’t truly gone forever, not yet, the blond had only dug his heels in further.

Vivi had gotten annoyed, then angry, when he refused to budge on the subject. Arthur, on the other hand, had only gotten more stubborn with his decision, as Lewis knew he would. The more someone pushed his old friend to do something, the less likely Arthur was to actually do it.

The blue-clad girl still had yet to learn that little lesson.

Which was why the two were stubbornly glaring at each other. 

“Come on, Arthur,” Vivi said. “It’s only for a few days.”

Arthur responded by crossing his arms over his chest and, with a note of finality, replied with a simple, “no.”

Vivi scowled. “I don’t understand why you don’t want to go home.”

“Gee,” Arthur sneered, “I don’t know. I could go visit my parents-oh, wait! That’s right, I _can’t_.”

Lewis winced at that comment. He was well aware that Arthur’s family had disowned him years ago, unimpressed by his lifestyle. It had been an escalation that Arthur had not really known how to handle, and he was still bitter about the whole thing.

Lewis supposed that at least his family had been supportive when he told them what he wanted to do. 

Although, he guessed that, since Arthur had grown up in a completely different environment than he had, that it wasn’t as big of a shock as he should have expected. Besides, Arthur, with his bright orange vest and ratty sneakers and decrepit old van really didn’t look or behave like the son of a multimillionaire.

Vivi rolled her eyes at Arthur’s comment. “Oh, please, there’s other places that I know you want to stop at. Like the high school.”

“Yes Vivi, let me just visit the place where I was bullied for years.”

“Oh, it wasn’t that bad.”

“Says the chick who was the most popular girl in school.”

“Fine, then what about the mechanic shop?”

“Burnt down years ago.”

“You can come see my parents with me, then.”

“You’re parents hate me.”

“They do not.”

“Vivi, the last time I was there, they alternated between ignoring me and making snide one-liners the entire time.”

“… Okay, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t like you.” 

“Vivi.”

Vivi bit her lip, and Lewis could see her running out of ideas. There was a reason that Arthur joined up with their crazy ghost hunting business despite being terrified of the supernatural. He had once told Lewis that if he hadn’t gotten out of their hometown when he did, he probably would have run away to Vegas or New York and just lived on the streets until who knew when. 

“You can stay with me and my family,” Lewis offered suddenly. Two pairs of eyes turned to look at him, one grateful and happy, the other annoyed and slightly panicked. 

Lewis was confused by the fear in his friend’s eyes. He raised an eyebrow at him.

“It’s perfect,” he said. “My family loves you, and we can all just take a few days vacation from the van.”

Vivi smiled at him and nodded, turning to Arthur. “What’d you say to that, Art?”

But the blond was shaking his head. “No.”

Vivi deflated in her seat, pouting and crossing her arms over her chest, a mirror of Arthur’s earlier pose. Lewis stared at Arthur.

“Why not?” he asked. “You love staying over at my house.” 

Arthur still shook his head. It didn’t escape Lewis’ notice that he had scooted over closer to the door. “I’m not going anywhere that godforsaken place.”

A spike of annoyance flared inside Lewis. He frowned. “What is your deal? Why won’t you let us go home?”

“There’s nothing there for me,” Arthur told him. 

Vivi sat up. “You’re being over dramatic. Lewis just offered you a room at his house.”

Lewis nodded. “Yeah, I can’t sleep anymore, so you can just take my old room. It’ll be fine.”

“No.”

“Why not?” Vivi asked. “You won’t have to go anywhere near your house. We’ll just chill at Lewis’ and the restaurant the whole time.”

“We won’t stay there longer than a week,” Lewis added.

“What part of no are you two not getting?” Arthur snapped suddenly, eyes flashing. Lewis leaned back in his seat slightly, unused to seeing this type of raw emotion coming from the other man. Arthur usually had a pretty tight grip on his anger.

“The part where you won’t tell us why,” Vivi responded, just as hostile.

Arthur glared at her. “I’m not going, that’s final. And since we agreed that it was all or nothing when making decisions, that means we’re not going. Pick somewhere else, give ‘em a freaking call, but we’re not nearing that stupid state.”

In a final act of solidarity, Arthur pushed open the van door and slid out, slamming it behind him. Lewis watched as he rounded the front of the vehicle and began walking down the side of the huge hill they were parked at.

An irritated huff brought Lewis’ attention to Vivi, who was glaring at Arthur’s retreating back.

“He’s being so stupid,” she muttered. She turned to look at Lewis, who stared at her with wide eyes. “Can’t you change his mind?” 

Lewis frowned. “I don’t know. He’s pretty much made up his mind, it seems.”

“It’s ridiculous,” Vivi said. “He’s not letting us see our families just because he doesn’t want to see his? How selfish can you be?”

“I think there’s more to it, Vi,” Lewis told her softly. 

“Like what?”

“I don’t know,” he sighed. “But he’s never opposed to going back before; at least, not this strongly. Something else is going on…”

They were quiet for a moment before Lewis turned to Vivi. “You did tell my parents that I died, right?”

To his surprise, she shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t remember…”

“Oh…” Lewis replied. He looked down at Mystery in his lap, who had fallen asleep. He gently rubbed his head, and the dog let out a soft, pleased noise.

He had forgotten that Vivi had her memory wiped.

Still, he wondered what his family thought he was doing, whether or not they knew. He assumed that he had a funeral, but he wasn’t sure.

Time was screwy when you were busy being dead.

 

It was almost dark by the time Arthur returned a few hours later. Vivi was complaining about being hungry and Lewis was being a worry wart when Arthur appeared in front of the van. He was carrying a newspaper and when he climbed into the van, he avoided everyone’s gaze. Mystery nudged at his hand.

“I found a case,” he said, thrusting the paper at Vivi. “Page fourteen. Nevada.”

Vivi frowned at him, but opened the paper to the correct page. Her eyes skimmed over it quickly, and she nodded. She shoved it back at Arthur, who grabbed it and crumpled it, throwing it to Lewis. Mystery barked and tried to catch it.

“Fine,” she sniped as Lewis smoothed over the paper. “Let’s get dinner and then go.”

Arthur nodded and started up the van.

The car was silent as they got food, a tense air filling around them. Vivi, it seemed, was refusing to talk to Arthur and Arthur seemed to adapt the logic of the “if we don’t talk about it, it never happened” routine.

It was kind of ironic, seeing as this was Arthur.

A few hours into their journey, Vivi fell asleep in the passenger seat, Mystery dozing lightly on her chest.. Lewis was leaning over the bench, watching the highway signs fly by them.

“Hey,” he said after some thought. “I asked Vivi, and she doesn’t remember, but do my parents know that I died.”

Arthur was quiet for a long moment; so long, in fact, that Lewis was wondering if the other man was simply going to ignore him.

“They know,” Arthur said quietly.

His eyes were focused solely on the road ahead. Lewis glanced at him in surprise.

“Good…” he replied. “I’m glad they know.”

Arthur didn’t respond, but his grip on the steering wheel tightened.

“Was there a funeral?” Lewis asked.

Arthur gave a jerky nod, but didn’t say anything else.

“I’m happy they at least got to say goodbye, then,” he went on, oblivious to how uncomfortable Arthur was. “I’d just kind of like to say goodbye to them, too, you know?”

“Yeah…” There was a hoarse note in Arthur’s voice that made Lewis glance at him.

“It’d just be nice,” Lewis continued. “See them one last time, make peace with them. That way they know I’m okay and I can talk to them again." 

Amber eyes slid over to glance at Lewis, and the ghost gave Arthur a small, sad smile. He clapped a hand on Arthur’s bony shoulder briefly and moved to settle in the back. 

Lewis couldn’t sleep; as a ghost, he had no need for it. No more sleeping, no eating, no bathroom. It was a blessing and a curse. But he could drift, absorbed by his own thoughts and the pull of the Other Side. He wasn’t in danger of passing over, but it was nice to just sit there and let his thoughts go.

It was as close to sleeping as he’d get.

 

He became aware again when he felt the van stop. He mentally shook himself and sat up a bit to peer over the back of the seat, expecting to see a rest stop ahead. Vivi was still conked out, snoring softly.

Mystery was awake, though, and gently nudging Arthur’s shoulder. The blond didn’t realize that Lewis was watching, staring ahead with a frightened expression, biting on his thumbnail.

It was then that Lewis noticed that they had reached a crossroads. One of the roads was clearly marked for Nevada and their newest job. The other brought them back to the highway, going the opposite direction.

Going towards home.

Arthur worried at his thumb, clearly mulling over a decision that Lewis had thought that he already made. He sighed and tipped his head back, eyes sliding to his companion. He let his hand leave his mouth and it rested instead on Mystery’s head, between his ears.

“Ah, Mystery,” he murmured so quietly that Lewis almost didn’t hear. “What do I do?”

The demon dog let out a small whine, burying his nose in the crook of Arthur’s neck. Arthur’s hand fell down to his lap and his eyes slipped shut. Everything was quiet for a moment.

Arthur didn’t say anything else, but he did sit up. Mystery backed up a bit, then climbed into his lap, laying his head on Arthur’s chest. His eyes and Lewis’ connected as Arthur, unaware that he was being watched, shifted the van into gear and turned down the road to the highway.

Lewis lay back down slowly and stared at the ceiling of the car, wondering why, exactly, Arthur was so reluctant to go home.

 

He got his answer the next day when they pulled onto the road that took would take them two hours to get to their hometown. When Vivi recognized the signs, she let out a shrill scream and climbed over Mystery to get to Arthur, giving him a huge hug and nearly causing them to crash. She pulled back when Arthur swatted her away.

“You big softie!” she cried, settling for punching his shoulder instead.

Arthur winced at the contact, rubbing it gently with his metal hand. He scowled. “Vivi, what did I tell you about physical abuse?” 

“Oh, it’s not abuse,” she grinned. “But seriously, what changed your mind?” 

Arthur shrugged, but Lewis met his eyes in the rearview mirror. “Just because I’m taking you guys home doesn’t mean that I’m going. I’m gonna check into the motel until you guys are ready to leave.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Vivi told him. “You don’t have to stay there. Just stay with Lewis.”

“It’s free,” Lewis sang, grinning.

“I’ll think about it,” was Arthur’s only response.

Lewis knew Arthur well enough to know that he had already made up his mind.

Vivi babbled excitedly as they got closer to home. She began to name all the places she wanted to visit, all the people they had to see, everything they needed to do before taking off in a week.

But as Vivi got increasingly excited, Arthur seemed to grow only more nervous. Lewis watched as his one leg jiggled in anticipation, how his hands shook slightly, the way he became more jumpy as the miles ticked down. 

Mystery seemed to pick up on it, too, because he had settled in Arthur’s lap and refused to move. He had his head resting on Arthur’s arm despite the death grip the blond had on the steering wheel. Lewis swore the dog even glared at him when he began giving directions to his family’s restaurant.

And suddenly, there it was. The words “Pepper Paradise” glowed softly on a sign that overlooked the road. Everything looked the same, from the red bricks of the building to the line green and orange themed peppers that dotted the side of the eatery.

Nostalgia washed over Lewis and he leaned forward in the back seat. His eyes roamed over the tinted windows, the nearly empty parking lot, the large meadow that stretched out on the other side of the building where, just beyond the line of trees, his house stood.

His grandparents’ car sat in the parking space closest to the door.

Slowly, Arthur pushed the old van over the small bump and they were there, they were _home_ , and Lewis grinned. He stared at the restaurant as Arthur pulled up to a stop.

And then there was his little brother, Noah, running out the door towards them. A bat was in his hands and an angered look on his face that immediately tugged at Lewis.

Without warning, he backpedaled and flung open the side door to the van, ignoring the startle calls of his friends.

When he stepped out and met Noah’s eyes, the boy stopped, eyes wide. The bat dropped to the ground and rolled away. Noah was frozen, staring gaping up at him.

The next thing Lewis was aware of was an armful of little brother, Noah was sobbing into his chest, gripping the back of his shirt tightly.

“But you’re dead,” Lewis heard.

“I am,” Lewis whispered back into his hair, a shade lighter than his own. “But that doesn’t mean I’m not here.”

“You came back,” Noah said.

Lewis smiled and pressed a kiss into Noah’s hair. “I came back.”

The teen in his arms held on tighter, and then there were loud voices yelling. He glanced up and saw his mom and dad, his grandparents, his two sisters, and there was even his aunts and uncles, his cousins, all flooding out of the doors.

They descended upon him in a crashing wave and Lewis had to concentrate to maintain his form, to not be intangible.

People were screaming in happiness, tears were shed. Lewis was passed through so many more arms, kissed so many cheeks, grinned so widely that he honestly thought that his nonexistent cheeks would start to hurt.

Everything else faded, and he forgot about Arthur’s uneasiness, forgot about the tenseness that had been prevalent for days. Right now, all that mattered was this, right here.

He was home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *fart noises*
> 
> Headcanon time!
> 
> Arthur comes from money. Big money. His parents are super wealthy, super proper, and super stuck up. They were never around when Arthur was little, and he's really not interested in the whole college thing, or the stock market. His parents don't support his on the road lifestyle and they had a huge falling out when he was eighteen and disowned him. He's got a small fortune saved up in a separate account but that's it.
> 
> Lewis family is huge. HUGE. SO MANY PEOPLE. He's got a little brother, a little sister, and an older sister. Little bro is named Noah, little sister is Amelia, and older sis is Janet. Yup.
> 
> Why is Arthur so reluctant to go back?
> 
> TUNE IN NEXT TIME 
> 
> //shot


	9. Breathe Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something in the air

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Obsessive-enthusiast](http://obsessive-enthusiast.tumblr.com/) gave the prompt "Breathe Again" with Arthur and Lewis
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> Not beta'd or proof read.

Arthur skidded to a stop next to the prone form of his best friend. He gulped, letting the flashlight fall to the ground. It swerved around, casting an eerie, strobe effect on the old drywall around them. His hands trembled as he turned Lewis over.

The purple-haired man was pale, his eyes shut and his lips, his lips were blue…

Any attempt at trying to settle his shaking hands failed as he reached out and pressed his fingers to Lewis’ throat.

He wasn’t breathing.

All air seemed to evaporate from his lungs. Arthur couldn’t breathe, couldn’t get any oxygen. His heart hammered in his chest, too fast, and he kept exhaling too much, too fast, but for the life of him, he couldn’t take in any air.

Tears streamed down his face, and he scrambled at his chest, feeling his heart beating too quickly, too many beats per second, it was all too much.

They were both going to die in this god forsaken house.

…No.

Using all the willpower he possessed, Arthur paused in his erratic state, managing to take in a small, gasping breath.

It was followed by another, then another, and as he got more air, his head cleared. He stared down at Lewis, saw the palor of his skin, and it nearly set him off again

"Okay, Arthur," he wheezed. "Okay, calm down, you can do this…"

He breathed in erratically a few more times before he took a huge, gulping breath, clenched his eyes shut, and pressed his mouth over Lewis’. He blew out every single last bit of air that he had, cracked open an eye to see Lewis’ chest rise, then fall.

Arthur didn’t think before he did it again, and again, and again. He kept going, losing his own air as he gave it to his friend. His head felt light, he wasn’t sure he would be able to breathe again, when Lewis gave a soft cough.

The blond sat back a little as Lewis shot up, hunched over and coughed. He coughed out the air that Arthur had given him, air that he needed, air that he, once more, couldn’t get enough of.

He realized this the moment Lewis turned to look at him, eyes wide and scared.

"My air not good enough for you?" Arthur managed to rasp out. The image of Lewis swam before him, darkness encroaching around his vision, before he took one more jagged breath, his heart skipped a beat, and then nothing but a dark, inky purple surrounded him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next few chapters are the result of a [drabble prompt party](http://reeberry.tumblr.com/post/102385092092/peekbelowthesurface-send-me-a-number-and-two)I had on [my tumblr](http://dontfeeddaelves.tumblr.com/) the other night. I'll get the next few "real" chapters up soon, but I just wanted to post these here because I might not like them, but I still feel like they belong here.


	10. Flowers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The color of friendship... flower-coded

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lovely [petzfan](http://petzfan.tumblr.com/) requested one of two prompts, and I went with "flowers" because, well, I needed some happy.

Lewis leaned back and watched as Arthur and Mystery ran around the field. Arthur had a long stick in his hand and was taunting the dog, who jumped and barked after him. The blond tugged the stick away at the last second, grinning and running as Mystery chased after him.

Beside him, Vivi chuckled, hands going a mile a minute in her lap. Flowers were strewn around her.

Lewis had no idea what she was doing, or why she needed so many flowers, but she was happy, and that’s all that mattered.

"They’re such dorks," she said fondly.

"Yeah," Lewis agreed, a smile in his voice. The sun shone down. It was a perfect day and he almost wished that he could feel the warmth of the sun on his skin. "But they’re your dorks."

"Sometimes I wonder why," Vivi sighed. She reached out and grabbed a purple flower, adding it to the masterpiece in her lap.

"Because you’d be lost without them?" Lewis offered, turning to look at her.

"I think you have it a little backwards, Lew," Vivi told him, but she smiled regardless.

"Ah, you love ‘em," Lewis said.

"Never said I didn’t." A yellow flower joined the rest.

"You’re life would be infinitely more boring."

"I hunt ghosts for a living, I highly doubt that."

"On the side."

"Not if I can help it." A blue flower was plucked from the ground.

"It’s Arthur’s van."

"I can get a new one."

"And who would you get to fix it?"

"A real mechanic."

"Don’t let Artie hear you say that."

"Oh, he knows that he’s the best. I wouldn’t know a lugnut from a regular nut." A red flower added a little more color to her creation.

"I think you’ve got a couple of nuts already."

"Oh, says the biggest nut of them all."

"You love me," Lewis said, turning to look at her.

Vivi smiled at him and reached up, pressing a kiss to his skeleton cheek while placing something on his bald head at the same time.

He reached up and felt at it at the same time that Arthur ran by. The blond caught his eye and stopped in his shenanigans to stand before him. He smirked.

"Nice flower crown, Lewis," he snickered.

Lewis stared at him when Mystery ran up and leaped up, tackling Arthur in the chest and toppling the man to the ground. He let out a startled yelp that turned to giggles as Mystery began to assault his face with his tongue and nose, barking happily.

"Boys!" Vivi called, laughing. She grabbed Lewis’ bony hand, squeezed it once, before joining in on the pile.

Meanwhile, Lewis sat nearby, watching, a crown of flowers the color of his heart sitting proudly atop his head.


	11. Grave Silence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur speaks, and hopes a certain someone is listening

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That happy is now gone, replaced with more sad courtesy of [obsessive-enthusiast](http://obsessive-enthusiast.tumblr.com/) that went a little too far with the feels...
> 
> Really, though, were you expecting anything less?

Arthur sat down on the damp ground. It was quiet, so quiet, and the sun overhead made everything brighter, made the colors happier, the birds chirpier, the grass greener.

It was a liar.

Nothing was happy, not anymore. His world was shattered, his arm gone, his best friend killed by his own hand, his other friend unknowing of the events that had transpired.

He didn’t know which of those was the worst.

He sighed, absently plucking the grass with his one hand, his only hand, now. He let it fall lazily, the wind carrying it a few feet before gravity took over and pulled it to the ground again.

Arthur hated gravity.

He hated it. Hated it, hated it, hated it. He wished it didn’t exist, wished-

"It’s so stupid," he said after a moment, trying to force the bad thoughts from his mind. "I’m the logic guy, I’m the science geek, I should be basking in this type of thinking."

He sighed.

"It’s so different. Everything. Missing the arm, that’s been the toughest. It’s nothing, compared to… you know. But it’s still a big adjustment. I bump into a lot of things now. Trip a lot, too. Just wait till I try and get up, you’ll probably laugh.

A car horn blared from the nearby road.

"I guess… I guess I just wanted to say…"

He stared, felt his throat tighten, felt the warm tears gather behind his eyes. He shoved his heel into them, trying to force them at bay.

"It’s so dumb," Arthur said softly. "I should have just told you. Then maybe… Aw, fuck, it’s just so messed up. I messed up. I messed up so bad, and you can’t fix this one."

He let his hand fall away and stared at the ground. He let his eyes close.

"I don’t know what to do. I’m… I’m literally drawing so many blanks right now. Vivi… she doesn’t remember. Anything. At first I was grateful, you know, but now… she keeps behaving like nothing happened but it did, it did and I can’t tell her, can’t do anything, and it’s killing me inside."

Arthur let out a startled bark after a moment. Before he knew it, he was dissolving into a fit of hysterical laughter, a note of manic in it.

"I’m sorry," he wheezed after a moment. "I shouldn’t… but I… That was wrong. I’m sorry…"

Tears welled up again, and this time, Arthur made no attempt to stop them. The damn had broken and the big droplets rolled down his cheeks. He swiped at them angrily.

"I shouldn’t be crying…" he whispered. "I should… it should be me. It should have been me. I’m sorry… there’s nothing I can do, but I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!" He screamed out the last part, banging his fist down on the ground in fury.

"Fuck, I’m sorry, it should be me!" he cried. "Can you hear me? It should be _me_!”

He lost it. His chest heaved with huge breaths as he sobbed, the ground eagerly eating up his salty tears.

But there was no one to comfort him. No hand on his back, rubbing it in soothing circles. No soft voice of reassurances. No dazzling smile that was able to stop his tears. No words of encouragement, of comfort that everything would be okay.

After all, tombstones couldn’t talk.


	12. Trapped

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lewis is befuddled, and Arthur is a child stuck in a grown man's body

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My lovely [musekicker](http://musekicker.tumblr.com/) wanted Arthur and Lewis with the prompt "traps" and so I delivered.

Lewis gazed down at a sheepish Arthur.

"You’ve got to be kidding me…"

Arthur merely blushed, giving the larger man an embarrassed grin. “Uh, nope. No kidding here.”

Lewis stared at it. “I don’t… I don’t understand…”

The blond shrugged. “What? I mean, aside from the obvious…”

The urge to face-palm was strong, but Lewis didn’t give in, kept it together for Arthur. “You are a grown man…” he said.

"You’re point?" Arthur asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You are a grown… nevermind…" Lewis trailed off, unable to take his eyes off it.

"Are you gonna help me or not?"

"I… I don’t know…" Lewis had half a mind to leave Arthur like that, negative reinforcement or something like that.

Arthur let out a small keening whine. “Come on, man.”

"If you’re dumb enough to get yourself in this predicament, then you’re certainly more than capable of getting yourself out."

"Lewis!"

The purple-haired man shrugged. “You’re kidding me, right? This is a joke?”

Scowling, Arthur shoved his hands in Lewis’ face. “Does this look like a joke?”

Gently, Lewis pushed away the blonde’s hands. He sighed. “Yeah, alright. Let me just go grab some peanut butter or butter or… scissors…”

He began to walk to the kitchen, shaking his head, wondering at the antics of his best friend.

Only Arthur would be able to get himself stuck in a Chinese Finger Trap for hours.


	13. Hungry Like the Wolf

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lewis makes a friend, Arthur gets a meal, and a friendship is born in the cafeteria of a high school

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anon wanted the prompt "starvation" with Lewis and Arthur and I delivered!
> 
> It's a little different from the [version on my tumblr](http://dontfeeddaelves.tumblr.com/post/104381680098/starvation-lew-nd-arthur) because I actually wanted to expand on the ending more. I was just kind of rushing through the ending because it was getting late and I had other prompts I wanted to work on, so, here we are instead.

Lewis saw the blond boy sit at the lunch table and pull out…

Nothing.

He frowned, It was lunch time, the best time of the day, a time where dozens and dozens of high schoolers stuffed their faces with the greatest cafeteria food known to man.

And some monkeys.

But seriously, the schools cheese sticks, served every Friday, were the best things Lewis had ever eaten in his life. They were baked to perfection, so soft and chewy and the cheese was so stringy it was a crime. And the sauce, oh, the sauce, was just heavenly.

Fridays were made infinitely better by the cheese sticks. The kids got an extra ten minutes for lunch because the line was so long.

Which was why, in the mist of all the glorious, cheesey goodness surrounding him, Lewis found the lack of even a brown paper bag (which could be traded for said cheese sticks) disconcerting.

He didn’t actually know the boy across the cafeteria. He himself was a quite sort of fellow, large as he was. But everyone respected him; family name and all that. But this yellow-haired kid was wiry thin and sitting hunched over in his chair, backpack on the table.

Mind already made up, Lewis stood from his own empty table, tray piled high with cheese sticks, and wandered over to the newcomer. The kid glanced up at him warily when he was within distance.

"Mind if I join you?" Lewis asked cheerfully.

With a raised eyebrow and a suspicious scowl, the kid hastily grabbed his pack and shoved it in his lap. He watched as Lewis sat across from him. Lewis smiled.

"I’m Lewis," he introduced.

"Arthur," the boy responded after a moment. His amber eyes kept darting to Lewis’ tray.

"Nice to meet you," Lewis said. He took up a cheese stick from his plate and held it out to Arthur. "You forget your lunch?"

Arthur eyed the cheese stick suspiciously, narrowed eyes drifting up to meet Lewis’.

"Something like that," he said slowly.

Lewis gave the stick a small nudge, pushing it closer to Arthur. “Here, have a few of mine.”

Arthur reached up to take it, then snatched his hands back to his chest.

"What’s the catch?" he asked.

With a startled jerk, Lewis frowned. “No, no catch. I got a lot anyways, and since you don’t have a lunch…”

The look Arthur was giving him set off warning bells in Lewis’ head. He swallowed and began again.

"I mean, if you want it. But no one should be deprived of cheese sticks. And if you don’t want it, then I’m sure I can find someone else who will. I hate to throw it out, and-"

The cheese stick was hurriedly swiped from his hand and shoved into Arthur’s mouth faster than Lewis could blink.

And after a moment, that’s all he could do as Arthur ate like the single stick was his last meal. He smiled and handed another one to the blond.

Arthur took it and practically inhaled it. Lewis chuckled and shoved his tray into the middle of the table.

"Take as many as you need," he offered, eating his own cheese stick, albeit at a much slower pace.

Arthur took another, and another, and when he reached for a fifth, stopped. He lowered his hand to his lap and shook his head.

"No, no, I’m sorry…" he said.

Lewis swallowed his mouthful before speaking. “For what?”

"I shouldn’t take your food…" Arthur replied. "I can’t… I can’t repay you…"

Lewis simply waved it off. “No problem. We can just exchange stuff on Monday.”

"That’s just it…" Arthur muttered. Lewis had to lean forward to catch the last part. "I can’t… I can’t afford lunch…"

"We can buy, or trade paper bags with the lunch ladies then," Lewis told him. "No biggie."

"No, I," Arthur gave him a pitiful look. "I mean my family. They… we… can’t really… afford lunch… of any kind…"

"Oh…" Lewis stared at him as Arthur squirmed slightly in his seat.

The bell rang and the cafeteria became a huge herd of moving students. The sounds of things being dumped into trash cans battled the squeak of sneakers on the floor. Arthur was standing hurriedly, donning his backpack.

"Thanks for sharing anyways," he said quickly. "I’ll find a way to repay you somehow."

"No, that’s alright," Lewis began, but Arthur was off before he could finish. He sat there, kids moving around him, and frowned.

He’d figure out something.

 

On Monday, when Lewis sat down across from Arthur, the blond tensed. Lewis ignored it and smiled at him, placing a brown paper bag in front of him before opening his own.

"I’m not sure what you like," Lewis told him, unwrapping his own sandwich. "Or if you were allergic to anything, so it’s just basic turkey and cheese. I got apple juice too, and some carrots and chips."

Arthur was staring at the bag like it might explode before turning an unimpressed look to Lewis.

"What is this?" he demanded, pointing to the bag.

Lewis shrugged. “Lunch.”

Amber eyes narrowed.

"Why?"

"Because you look like a twig?" Lewis offered. Arthur looked scandalized for a moment and Lewis chuckled. He nudged the bag closer. "It’s not poisoned, I promise."

"I can’t accept this," Arthur said. "I can’t pay you back…"

Lewis waved a hand in the air. “No worries. Just be my friend, hows that for starters?”

Arthur looked at him like he was crazy, but before the lunch period ended, he had eaten everything Lewis had packed.

It went on like that for the rest of the year.

Lewis would make Arthur lunch every day, and in return, Arthur helped him out with his math homework (kid was crazy good at that, and physics, who knew?). The two became fast friends, and while Arthur didn’t necessarily stop looking twiggish, he didn’t look on the verge of death anymore.

Fridays were the best, though, where the two joked over a shared tray piled high with delicious cheese sticks.

It went on like that for the remainder of their high school years. During the summers, Arthur practically lived at Lewis' house, where his mother and grandmother would fuss over him.

"You too skinny, boy!" his nana would cry, wrapping a hand around his wrist and shoving a giant container of food at his chest.

"Stay for dinner, Arthur, please," Lewis' mother said.

And when Arthur turned startled and confused and slightly panicked gaze upon Lewis, the taller teen chuckled. He grabbed the blond and tugged him to his side, guiding him into the kitchen.

"He'll love to," Lewis spoke for him.

As his mother and grandma nodded their approval, Arthur pulled away a little.

"Lewis, I can't... I don't want to intrude..."

"Nonsense," Lewis told him gently but firmly. "If they didn't want you here, they wouldn't have offered. Stay. You're welcome anytime, just make yourself at home. Nana always cooks too much anyways, it won't be missed."

Arthur was still wary about the whole affair, but by the time they had entered their senior year of high school, he had come around. He was a regular at family dinners, Thanksgiving included. Dia de los Muertos was whole nother affaire that Arthur was allowed to partake in.

And every night, Lewis mother would send the boy home with containers full of leftovers.

 

A week before they met Vivi, Lewis was sitting in his living room, watching TV with his cousins, when Arthur knocked once on the door and entered. He grinned at Lewis, who waved him over and Arthur dropped his backpack by the door and plopped down next to him on the couch. Without any reassurances, he reached over and plucked a french fry from the plate in Lewis' lap, shoving it in his mouth.

"How was work?" Lewis asked, shifting so that Arthur didn't have to reach over too far.

Arthur swallowed and grabbed another one, chewing it quietly. "Eh, it was okay."

"Don't talk with your mouthful," Lewis scolded lightly.

The blond rolled his eyes, but when he spoke next, it was with an empty mouth. "Okay. Finally got that van I was working on running."

"The one your boss said you could have if you fixed it?"

Another fry. "Mhmm."

"That's great!" Lewis exclaimed. He got a room full of "shhh!" as a response.

"Yup," Arthur grinned. He snatched up another morsel.

Lewis watched as Arthur chewed softly, the grease stains on his shirt and on his hands. He scowled and shoved the plate into Arthur's hands.

"Whoops, sorry," Arthur said, dropping the fry in his grip back to the plate. He tried to give it back to Lewis.

"I don't want anymore," Lewis told him.

The look Arthur gave him damn near broke his heart. While he had gotten over the thought that Lewis was just giving him handouts, Arthur was still mightily insecure about the whole food thing. He tended to shut down when it seemed like he was intruding. Lewis mother worried about him, especially since he was still a skinny little thing.

"It's not that," Lewis added after a moment. Arthur sent him an unreadable glance, plate held awkwardly between them. Lewis lightly tapped the blonde's knuckles. "You didn't wash your hands."

He pretended to ignore the look of relief that flashed over Arthur's face before the smaller boy dragged the food back to him.

"All part of my evil plan," Arthur joked, grabbing a handful of fries and shoving them into his mouth at the same time. His cheeks bulged like a chipmunk and Lewis gave him a scandalised look.

"That's disgusting."

"So's your face."

"Real mature."

Arthur grinned at him and settled back.

Lewis mom popped her head around the wall and smiled when she saw the blond.

"Hey, Arthur," she said.

Arthur swallowed and returned her grin. "Hey, Mrs. Castillo."

"Everything okay at work today?" she asked as she stepped around the corner. She was wearing an apron and had flour dusting her cheeks.

Arthur nodded. "Yup. Got that van working, so that's a personal victory."

"Excellent. Dinner's in a few hours, so don't fll up too much."

The blond gave a lazy salute and continued eating the fries. Mrs. Castillo gave her son a knowing, proud smile before returning to the kitchen.

 

A year later, Vivi and Lewis approached the mechanic shop that Arthur worked at. The blond saw them coming and said something to a coworker, slamming the hood of the vehicle that he working on down before approaching them, wiping his hands on a cloth.

"Hey, guys," he greeted. He smiled at Mystery as the pup ran up to him.

"Hey, man," Lewis said. He waved a brown paper bag in front of his friend. "Brought you some lunch."

Arthur grinned, bending down to pick Mystery up. The dog licked at his nose. "Awesome. Leftovers?"

Lewis shook his head. "Mama made it fresh for the occasion."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "And what occasion would that be?"

"Is this the van?" Vivi asked.

Lewis watched as Arthur's attention was drawn to the blue-clad girl, who was circling Arthur's car like a hawk. She peered inside the windows, standing on her tip-toes. Arthur watched her warily; that van was Arthur's pride and joy, his baby. He didn't like it when other people judged her. Lewis was lucky the other man even let him drive it.

He jerked a thumb over at Vivi and looked back at Lewis, eyes narrowed. "What's that about?"

Lewis rocked back and forth on his heels, waving the bag in Arthur's face. Arthur scowled, but Lewis noticed that his attention was divided between Vivi and the food.

"Remember how we met?" Lewis asked.

"Kind of hard to forget," Arthur replied.

"Well..." Lewis drawled slowly. He let his eyes slide over to where Vivi was inspecting the van. "I think... I might have a way for you to repay me for all the free meals."

Arthur caught on instantly and his eyes shifted over to Vivi, watching her suspiciously. He frowned.

"What, my undying love and eternal friendship not enough for you?"

"I didn't say that."

With a roll of his eyes, Arthur reached up and snatched the bag from Lewis' hand. He opened it, peered inside, and Lewis knew he had him.

"Fine," Arthur said, a hint of humor in his voice. He let Mystery down and pointed a finger at Lewis. "But we'll talk after lunch. Until then, keep the over-excited puppy away from my baby. And make sure that Mystery doesn't pee on it either."

With air of finality, he turned and walked away, Mystery lapping at his heels. Lewis chuckled.

"Don't let Vivi hear you say that!"

"Hear what?" Vivi asked, coming up beside him.

Arthur glanced over his shoulder at them and hurried his pace. "Nothing!" he quipped.

Vivi narrowed her eyes and Lewis gently bumped her shoulder.

"See?" he said. "Told you food was the way to go."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This ends the chapters of miniprompts! The other ones should hopefully be up soon!


	14. Dépaysement Part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Family reunions were never this violent

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this is horrible...
> 
> Not beta'd or proof read.

Vivi watched as Lewis was swept up in the arms of his family and led inside. He glanced over his shoulder at them right before he went through the door and motioned for the three of them to follow before being blocked by a wall of bodies.

She chuckled and hopped down from the passenger seat, looking up at the blond still in the drivers side.

“Come on, Arthur!” she cried, turning to grin at him. Her smile dropped when she saw how pale he looked, how panicked his eyes were. Worry instantly took hold of her and she climbed back into the seat. “Arthur?”

He gulped, focusing his gaze on her, and gave her a shaky smile. “Yeah, yeah, sorry…”

“You okay?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he said. “Yeah, I’m… I’m good.”

He didn’t fool her for a second, but Vivi decided that it wasn’t the time to pry. She returned his small smile and jerked her head towards the restaurant. “Come on, then! I’m sure everyone’s celebrating and Lewis will need us to recount his exploits!” 

But Arthur was already shaking his head, one hand on the steering wheel, the other gripping the gear stick.

“No,” he said. “No, I’m… I’m just gonna go, okay? You go ahead, have fun, I’ll just-”

“Arthur,” Vivi interrupted. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Arthur answered too quickly. He nodded past Vivi. “Lewis will be expecting you.”

“You too,” Vivi frowned. Something was up, something was wrong, and she was going to figure out what.

“No.”

“Oh, don’t be a party pooper.” She quickly reached out and grabbed his wrist, yanking him out the door.

He fell out of it with a startled squawk, stumbling to catch his balance. Mystery hopped down after him, already heading inside as she pulled him towards the door.

“Vivi, let go,” he pleaded, using his metal arm to try and pry her hand away. She knew she had the upper hand, as he used as minimal amount of force as he could, trying not to hurt her.

“Nope,” she said as they sailed through the door. “We’re gonna have a nice meal and conversation and catch up.”

“That’s what I’m worried about…” Arthur muttered. They rounded the corner and were met with Lewis huge family sitting around the restaurant, laughing and joking and smiling. Lewis sat in the middle, surrounded by his parents and siblings. He looked happy.

Lewis noticed them first and began to stand, waving them over. Vivi started forward, only to pull up when Arthur refused to budge.

“Come on, Art,” she said.

Something flew past her ear and embedded into the doorway behind them. Vivi stood still, wide-eyed, as a silence descended upon the building. When she turned to look, there was a knife buried in the wood of the doorframe.

She gulped.

“What?” Lewis breathed.

“Vivi, let me go…” Arthur whispered. His eyes were as wide as saucers. 

From the throng, another utensil emerged, just barely missing Arthur as he jumped closer to Vivi with a startled shout. Lewis quickly hovered towards them, casting a worried eye to make sure they were okay.

Vivi moved her hand from Arthur’s wrist to grip his hand. It was shaking, and Arthur himself was trembling something fierce. She hadn’t seen him this frightened in a long while.

Something was very truly wrong.

Lewis seemed to pick up on it too, and if the way Mystery’s ear were pinned back, how he was baring his teeth, was any indication, then it was clear that something was going on. The purple specter floated a little closer to his friends, staring down his family.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

Mrs. Castillo glared at Arthur, who seemed to scared to move. He stood there, shivering, and his hand tightened around Vivi’s

But it was Noah who stepped forward. Mystery growled as he came closer, but Noah turned his cold stare on the dog instead. He stopped in the middle of the throng and pointed his bat at Arthur. 

“Get that thing out of here,” he snapped.

Arthur’s trembling ceased and Vivi whipped her head around to look at him.

The blond had gone still, and that’s when she realized that he was not breathing. His eyes stared at Noah, slightly glazed, as if he were trapped in another time. Vivi faintly recalled the words Arthur had told her his parents had screamed at him when they had their huge fight.

Gently, she squeezed his hand. His eyes flickered back and he took in a sharp, shuddering breath.

Lewis glanced over at him before turning back to his brother. His hair smoked a little when he spoke. “Noah, talk to me.”

“Not until that freak leaves,” Noah spat. He snapped his eyes to Lewis before returning his glare to Arthur.

There was a tug on Vivi’s hand and when she looked, Arthur was trying to pull away, towards the door. She planted her feet and he let out a small whine.

“Vivi, let me go,” he whispered.

“No,” Lewis answered for her. “You’re staying here. We’re gonna work this out.”

“Lewis, I-”

Arthur was interrupted by a sharp laugh from Noah. 

“Work this out?” the younger man sneered. “No, Lewis, there’s no working this out. Either he leaves, or we make him leave.” There was a murmur of agreement throughout the masses, and Arthur gave her hand another yank.

“Noah, just calm down,” Lewis placated, holding his hands up. “I’m sure we can-”

“There’s nothing you can do!” Noah yelled, finally looking up at Lewis. His face was red with anger as he swung his bat to dangle by his side. “You’re dead, okay? I don’t know how you’re here right now, but you’re still dead! And it’s all his fault!” He pointed the bat at Arthur again. Mystery growled louder. “There’s nothing anyone can do about it!”

“Except return the favor!” someone called from the group of people surrounding them.

Arthur gulped and Vivi gripped his hand tighter as a cheer arose from the crowd. Mystery let out a bark and Lewis came closer still to the trio while Noah grinned manically.

“Whoa, whoa,” Lewis said and his family quieted. “I think you’re being a little hasty here. You love Arthur, he’s practically been a part of his family for years.”

“Not anymore,” Mr. Castillo piped up, pushing his way to stand behind Noah. “He murdered you, Lewis, there’s no forgiveness for that." 

“Our love for him died the day you did!” Noah cried.

The mass of people screamed their agreement and a small shuffle forward. Arthur yelped and Vivi lost her grip on his hand. He stumbled away from them all and clambered to the door, pushing it open and hurrying outside. Mystery bounded after him, snapping his teeth at the crowd as they descended.

There were so many people, so many limbs and words and shouting that for a moment she didn’t know which way was up. She stumbled, being handed from person to person. She heard Mystery let out a loud bark, heard Arthur yelp in pain, and then as soon as it began, it was over.

Vivi found herself on the floor of the now empty room. She blinked, looking around as the last person disappeared through the front door. The restaurant was eerily quiet, a huge turn around from what had transpired just moments ago. Half eaten plates littered the tables, napkins floated to the floor. A few glasses were knocked over, the drinks spilling onto the tablecloths and dripping to the carpeted floor.

Lewis floated up to her and helped her stand. She brushed off her sweater as he fixed her glasses.

“What the hell was that?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” Lewis replied. He looked worried.

A loud, vicious bark drew their attention outside, and Vivi paled.

Lewis met her eyes and they both bolted to the door. He easily phased through it, while  Vivi wrenched it open.

The scene that greeted them was shocking. 

Lewis’ family was rocking the van back and forth. Mystery stood on top, barking and snarling angrily at everyone. Arthur could be seen in the window, pressed against the seat and terrified.

Vivi watched in horror as the mass of people pushed the van around. Besides her, she could feel the heat beginning to come off him in waves. There was a large burst of purple flame erupted around the two. It caught the attention of Lewis’ family and as one, they all turned to stare at him, eyes wide. Mystery stopped barking, and the van stopped rocking.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Vivi surged forward, pushing her way through the sea of people to reach the van. She managed to get Mystery to hop into her arms before trying the door only to find that Arthur had locked it.

She rapped lightly on the window and gestured to the lock, but Arthur just shook his head. He pointed behind her and when she looked, she saw Lewis coming towards them, his family parting to let him by.

When he reached them, he turned around and scowled at his family. “You want to tell me what this is about?”

“I’ll tell you what this is about,” Mrs. Castillo snapped, stepping forward. Her look was murderous. “You die, by his hand, and we’re just supposed to let that go while he gets off scott free? He needs to suffer!”

Lewis’ family yelled and began to move forward again. Vivi clutched a growling Mystery closer to her.

“Hold it!” Lewis shouted, flames spinning out of control for a moment. His family paused.

“How can you just forgive him?” Noah screamed, slamming the bat on the ground. It hit the pavement with a thud. “Why aren’t you as angry as we are?”

“I was angry!” Lewis yelled. Noah stopped in the wake of his fury. “I was so angry that I almost killed him myself!”

“Why didn’t you?!”

“Because he’s suffering enough!”

A pregnant silence descended upon the parking lot. Vivi glanced at Lewis, then looked back at Arthur. The blond was staring at Lewis slack jawed.

“He didn’t want to kill me!” Lewis screamed. “He was possessed, a demon took over his body and used him to push me off the cliff! He lost his arm because of it, and he has to live through every day with the knowledge and the burden that it was his arm that pushed! And since Vivi’s memory was wiped, he had to do it all alone!”

Noah was white as a sheet, and Lewis’ parents looked stricken. His other family members were muttering amongst themselves.

Vivi looked at him proudly.

“And if you can’t appreciate that, forgive him for telling you something himself when he could have just let you hear it from strange doctor, then we’re done here.”

Without waiting for a reply, he phased through the van, unlocking it easily from within. He held out a hand for Vivi, and she climbed up into the passenger seat.

“Drive,” Lewis commanded of Arthur. 

“Lewis…” Arthur said softly.

“Just do what I say, Arthur.”

Arthur gulped as flames began to flicker around the ghost and nodded, sliding easily into the seat and starting the car. He put the car in gear and began to drive, casting Lewis small glances out of the corner of his eyes.

Vivi sighed, watching the group fade in the side mirror. For the first time, she wondered, exactly, how Arthur had remained so strong while dealing with so much baggage.

And the way Lewis slipped his hand into hers, it was obvious that he was just as curious, and not a little bit worried, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SORRY ANON, I TRIED.
> 
> There might be a part 3 to this later down the road sometime. Maybe. We'll see. It'll be happy, though.


	15. Ambrosia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even kings need to take time to heal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ARTHUR'S PROFILE WAS RELEASED AND I AM JUST SO DAMN HAPPY
> 
> I WHIPPED THIS UP IN NO TIME
> 
> AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH
> 
> Not beta'd or proof read

He was staring out the hospital window again.

Vivi worried her bottom lip, watching silently from the doorway. Arthur didn't know she was there yet, despite it being eleven o'clock on the dot, the same time she visited every day for the past month since he'd lost his arm.

A horrible mechanic accident, Arthur had told her in so many words. He'd gotten his wrist band stuck in an engine and it had pulled it in.

The doctors were sure he'd make a full recovery, and he had already been fitted for a prosthetic. They were just waiting for the arm to come in so they could attach it and help him get used to using before letting him go.

But Arthur was still very unresponsive. He didn't speak much, only answering questions in short answers. He didn't watch TV, read, play the games that Vivi had brought in for him.

He just sat there, every day, staring out the window and not saying a word.

She sighed and knocked on the door frame, putting on a smile as the blond turned to look at her.

"Hey, there, sleepy head," she greeted. "How ya' doin?"

As predicted, Arthur merely shrugged, his hair falling around his head and past his ears, devoid of any and all gel that he normally used on it. His amber eyes were sunken, dull, and he was skinnier than usual.

"The nurses say that you didn't eat your breakfast again," Vivi said, sitting down in the chair next to his bed. It hadn't been moved since her visit the previous day.

All Arthur did was respond with another shrug turning to look back out the window.

Vivi sighed, reaching forward to grab Arthur's hand. The moment her fingers brushed his, he moved them away, drawing his arm to his lap.

There was another knock on the door and Vivi turned to see Lance standing in the doorway.

He smiled at her and she returned it. She liked Arthur's uncle; he was a nice man, had taken Arthur in after his parents had kicked him out. Taught him everything he needed to know about mechanics too.

It was rare that the man could visit; the shop usually took up a lot of his time, but at least once a week, he got a few hours break from managing and used the time to visit his favorite nephew.

He hadn't had any luck either.

"Hey, Art," Lance said. "Vivi, how are you?"

"Good," Vivi replied warmly. "Though I'd be better if a certain someone would eat his breakfast." She looked pointedly at Arthur, but the younger man ignored them, still staring at the window.

Vivi sighed, defeated, and looked helplessly to Lance. He nodded.

"Arthur, you got to eat. They'll hook you back up to the IV again if you don't."

Predictably, Arthur merely shrugged.

"Alright, kiddo, I didn't want to do this," the older man said gruffly, "but you've left me no choice."

He reached into his jacket pocket and Vivi perked up a bit, curious. She watched in silence as Lance lifted a small brown puffball from his pocket, setting it down on Arthur's bed carefully.

"Is that..." Vivi breathed.

"Galahad?"

Vivi snapped her head up to see Arthur watching the small hamster with something akin to awe. His voice was hoarse from disuse, but it was progress.

The small rodent wriggled across Arthur's lap and he carefully lifted his hand, letting the little guy climb into it. Galahad did so with as much dignity as a hamster had, and Vivi watched with wide eyes.

"Figured the little guy could use some air," Lance said. "And I'm pretty sure he missed ya'."

"How'd you get him in here?" Arthur croaked, setting Galahad on the sheets and petting him gingerly.

"What, you think your old uncle can't smuggle in a tiny rodent?" Lance snorted. "Kid, you don't wanna know my tricks."

But Arthur was preoccupied as he stroked Galahad. Vivi saw the trace of a small smile play on his lips and she let out a relieved breath that she didn't know she'd been holding.

"Who's been taking care of him?" Arthur asked, raising his eyes to meet Lance's.

Lance snorted. "What, do I get no credit in this play? Me, you numbskull."

Galahad made little chittering noises as Arthur ran a finger from head to butt. Vivi smiled.

"I..." Arthur, glanced away, then back to his uncle. "Thanks, Uncle Lance."

"Eh, don't mention it, kid," Lance waved a hand and pulled up a spare chair. He poked Arthur gently in the temple. "I'm serious. If my poker buddies find out, I'll be the laughing stock of the town."

Arthur did smile then and Vivi felt something in her let go. A weight was lifted off her shoulders.

* * *

When it was time for Lance to leave, he stood, holding out his hand to Arthur.

"Sorry, kiddo," he said, a note of sadness in his voice. "Gotta take the little guy home. He can't stay here."

"Yeah..." Arthur sighed. He handed Galahad to Lance, who tenderly placed him back in his pocket. He looked back up at his uncle.

"Can you bring him back tomorrow?" he asked.

Sadly, Lance shook his head. "I've work tomorrow, bud."

"Oh... Okay..."

Lance met Vivi's eyes and she nodded.

"Maybe I can stop by and get him," she offered.

Arthur met her gaze hopefully.

"But only if you eat breakfast and lunch," Lance bargained, poking Arthur in the temple again.

Arthur swatted at him with his good arm, but a soft smile lit up his face.

"Fine," he agreed easily.

Lance nodded approvingly and ruffled Arthur's lackluster hair before waving at Vivi and walking out the door.

"I should go too," Vivi said, standing. "Mystery gets antsy when I'm gone for too long nowadays."

Arthur frowned, and Vivi felt something settle in her gut. Had she said something wrong?

"Yeah, alright," he said instead. She gathered up her purse and was about to head out when Arthur called her back.

"Wait."

She turned. He watched her with an unreadable expression for a moment before gesturing to the table on the other side of the room.

"Can you get me my laptop before you go?"

Vivi felt whatever tension she had melt and she nodded, walking back over and grabbing the computer. She handed it to Arthur, who gave her a small smile in thanks. She leaned down, pressing a small kiss to his forehead.

He wrinkled his nose in response and she laughed.

"See you tomorrow, Art" she said.

"Bye, Vi," was the soft voice that responded.

When she returned the next morning, Galahad in her pocket as promised, it was to see Arthur sitting with the remains of his omelet on his food tray and his hair somewhat gelled.

And the best part was that he smiled at her, greeted her, and didn't look out that window like he'd just lost his best friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The King Arthur references are strong with this and I literally couldn't be happier.
> 
> (He named his arm Excaliber and his van Guinevere and I will fight you about it).


	16. Pseudo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little hamster gains a rather large friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IF YOU THOUGHT WE WERE JUST GOING TO IGNORE GALAHAD, THEN YOU WERE WRONG
> 
> OH SO WRONG.
> 
> Not beta'd or proof read.

He was named Hamster Number 4.8.12. He was the son of the fourth female in the store, of her eighth litter, and the twelfth offspring. The smallest, the tricolored one.

And the one with the broken legs. 

4.8.12, or Runt, as his brothers and sisters and every other hamster in the display case called him, sat in the corner for most of the day, watching as his siblings played on the wheel or climbed over the hideaway.

Every day, he remained in the same spot, unable to move too far, and observed all the other hamsters get picked up, played with, snuggled and cuddled and then placed back into the glass box. Sometimes, his brothers and sisters didn’t return, and he saw them being placed in a small box, an excited child smiling as they watched. They left with bags full of toys and treats and Runt desperately wished that one would choose him.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Number 2.5 told him one day. “No one would ever pick you.”

“Why not?” Runt asked.

“You’re broken,” Number 8.3.6 said, sniffing around his back legs. Runt frowned when he didn’t feel the other’s whiskers tickle his skin.

“I’m not broken,” Runt replied.

“Yes you are,” Number 4.8.1 sneered. “And no one wants a broken plaything.”

“Let’s be honest,” 2.5 said. “The only way you’re going home with someone is as snake food.”

The hamsters in the display all laughed and Runt gulped. He looked over across the store, where the snakes were, and saw them staring at him. They gave him a slippery smile and he shuddered, trying to burrow into the shavings around him.

“Or maybe a giant lizard,” one of the other hamsters, he couldn’t tell who, chuckled. 

“Face it, kid,” 1.9, the oldest and biggest hamster said. “You’re good for nothing except bait, useless. No human is ever going to want _you_.”

Runt didn’t want to believe him, wanted to think that out there, somewhere, there was someone out there who wanted a half-defective hamster.

But over the weeks, as the display case became bigger and bigger, more hamsters leaving and not coming back, he felt inclined to accept it as truth. Even 1.9 was taken, a gap-toothed girl with bright pink hair eagerly pressing a kiss to the hamster as she gathered him in her hands, grinning as she carried him away.

And so Runt sat in the same place, cursing his back legs and wondering what would become of him.

He didn’t want to become snake bait. He wouldn’t last a second.

So he remained where he was, blending in with the wood shavings, and tried not to think about it.

* * *

The yellow haired boy was back. 

Runt stared at him through the glass, his little beady eyes meeting the large amber ones that sort of matched his own.

He blinked, and the action was mirrored by the boy, who had his face pressed up against the display as if he could physically phase himself through it. 

Yellow-hair smiled at him and tapped the glass lightly. He didn’t bang on it, like Runt was used to, and he appreciated the sentiment. He couldn’t run from the overbearing sound like the others, so he was forced the endure the pain in his head that came from children pounding on sides of the display.

Runt simply looked back, unsure of what do. He hated that the little boy had picked him to look at. He’d get excited about the hamster, and when Jenny, the worker, would pick him up and deposit him in the child’s hand, Runt could already see the disappointed frown that would adorn the kid’s happy-go-lucky face.

It had happened many times before, and no matter what, it still hurt.

The kid had been coming over, staring at him, for the better part of at least an hour. Runt was seriously beginning to wonder if there was something wrong with him.

“Arthur?”

The child looked away from Runt and the hamster silently thanked the parents as Yellow-hair stepped away. 

“Mom, can I have a hamster?” he asked.

A woman with all the likeness of her son stared down at him. She worried her bottom lip. The kid clasped his hands under his chin and looked pleadingly up at her.

“Please?" 

“I don’t know, Arthur,” she said. “A pet is a lot of responsibility.”

“I’ll take really good care of him!” the kid, Arthur, begged.

“You can barely keep your room clean,” his mother tutted.

“I promise to clean my room every day!” Arthur pleaded.

“I don’t know…”

“And I’ll go to bed early for a month!”

“Arthur…”

“I’ll do all my homework as soon as I get home from school!”

“Arthur-”

“And I promise to stop putting the stuff Uncle Lance gives me in the house and I’ll keep it in the garage like I’m supposed to!”

“Alright, alright,” the mother laughed. She smiled. “You can get a hamster.”

The squeal the boy let out startled Runt, and he half jumped, wishing he could run away and hide. But, alas, he was stuck where he was, watching as Arthur hugged his mom around the waist.

She pressed a hand to his shoulder and pulled him away, crouching to be at eye level with him, face serious.

“I’m serious, Arthur,” she said. “This hamster is going to be your responsibility. If you can’t handle it, then we’re going to have to find someone who can, understand?”

The kid’s head bobbed so fast that Runt was feared it was in danger of falling off.

“Okay, then,” the mother smiled. She patted her son’s hair and nodded towards the cage. “Go ahead and pick one out.”

Arthur smiled at her and rushed back over, hanging over the side, unable to reach, as he pointed inside. Runt closed his eyes, not wanting to see which one of his brethren would be chosen this time.

“I want him!”

There was a moment of silence before Runt let out a startled squeak as he was lifted, his back end dangling useless in the air. Within seconds, he was deposited in Arthur’s eager hands.

Arthur stared at him in fascinated awe, eyes sparkling. Runt truly wanted to believe that this was it, that this was the child that would take him home. But he’d had his broken many times in the past and was resigned to his fate of never finding a child to love him.

The kid ran a gently finger down Runt’s back, and the hamster shivered at the loving touch. He frowned when the feeling faded as it reached his other end and he slumped in Arthur’s hands.

He gripped the flesh as Arthur spun wildly, holding him up to his mom’s face.

“Him!” the kid cried.

Runt’s breath caught as hope filled him. Could it be? Could this actually be happening?

“Can I help you?” And there was Jenny, rushing in to crush his dreams.

Arthur twisted again, and Runt clung for his life with his front paws. The boy’s mother came up behind him and rested her hands on his shoulders.

“Yes, we’d like to purchase this hamster, please,” she said, smiling down at her son.

Runt watched as Jenny squinted at him and then winced. She turned back to Arthur and his mom. “You might want to think about another choice, big guy,” she told the blond.

Arthur’s face fell. “Why?” 

Jenny reached out and gently removed Runt from his hands. She held him out and poked his hind legs, and Runt wished that he could do something, react somehow, but he couldn’t feel a thing.

“He was born with a condition,” she explained. “His back end is paralyzed. He probably wouldn’t be that fun for you.”

She began to lower him back into the cage when Arthur stopped her.

“No, I want him…” he said softly.

“Sweetie, he’s broke,” his mom replied.

Jenny deposited Runt back in his corner and he avoided the snickers that the other hamsters were giving him. The worker reached back in and grabbed Number 2.4.7, holding the tan hamster out to the boy.

“Wouldn’t you rather have him?” she asked. “He’s a cutie, and he loves to play chase!”

“But I want him…” Arthur whined, pointing at Runt.

“Arthur,” his mother began, but he whirled around and frowned at her.

“He’s not broken, he’s hurt,” Arthur argued, looking at Runt. “I can help him. Like Uncle Lance helps people sometimes.”

His mother chewed on her lip a bit and Jenny stared, eyes wide. After a long moment, the woman deflated and locked eyes with Jenny.

“We’ll take the first hamster, please.”

Jenny looked shocked. “Ma’am, if you’d please-”

“The first hamster, if you’d please,” Arthur’s mother snapped, frowning.

The pet store worker nodded and put down 2.4.7. Runt was shocked as the others all watched as Jenny reached down and picked him up. He was raised and then quickly deposited back into Arthur’s hands.

Gentle hands closed around him and Runt blinked as Arthur stared at him, smiling happily.

“Let me just go get the starter kit,” Jenny muttered, hurrying away.

“What are you going to name him, honey?” the mother asked as they began the journey to the register where Runt had seen many of his siblings taken before. 

“Galahad,” Arthur declared proudly. He scratched Runt’s ear gingerly. “I’m gonna name you Galahad.”

Runt-no, Galahad, now-trembled at the sensation. He stared up at Arthur with wide eyes.

“How come that name?”

“Because!” Arthur exclaimed excitedly. “It’s like one of Papa’s tales! He’s a Knight of the Round Table! Just like Uncle Lance!”

“Shouldn’t you name him one of the better known knights, then?”

“Nah,” Arthur said. “Galahad was the greatest knight ever. King Arthur said so.”

The woman chuckled. “Whatever you say, Arthur. Whatever you say.”

* * *

Galahad watched as the boy set the contraption before him. He stared at it, cocking his head, before using his front legs to crawl forward, sniffing it.

Arthur grinned. “You like it, buddy?”

The hamster looked at, confused. He wasn’t quite sure what it was, what it was supposed to do.

Lance, Arthur’s uncle, came up behind the kid and clapped a hand on his shoulder, leaning down a bit to get closer to it.

“Looks good, Art,” he said, a small proud smile playing on his lips. “You follow my instructions this well and maybe I’ll put you to work in the shop.”

Arthur lit up. “Really?” he asked excitedly.

Lance chuckled. “Sure thing, kiddo.” He gently pet Galahad on the head and the hamster chittered. “Well, go ahead. Get ‘im all settled in.”

Galahad squeaked as Arthur gingerly picked him up, letting him hover over the gizmo before he slowly, carefully lowered him down. 

The hamster panicked. This was it. This was where he ended. All these weeks of attention, of being tended to, was all a ploy. He was simply some food for this crazy gadget and this twisted human was the cause.

He squeezed his eyes shut, trembling. There were odd sounds of tools that he had grown accustomed to over the days and some pressure on his stomach, and then…

The little rodent was still, unmoving, afraid of what had happened. But he couldn’t do anything, would have no choice of survival if he didn’t open his eyes, and so, after a deep breath, squinted his lids open.

The humans were looking excitedly down at him, waiting.

That’s when he realized that he was, in fact, not in any immediate danger. He opened his eyes all the way, nose twitching. 

“What do you think?” Arthur asked him, eyes wide.

Galahad sniffed once and then looked around. As he turned his head, he somehow lost his balance and tumbled to the surface of the desk he was on. He shook his head, confused, and then turned to see what had knocked him down.

Shock ran through him when he saw what was on his back legs.

Somehow, Arthur, with the help of Lance, had created him artificial limbs. They were wheels, huge, and attached to his bottom half easily.

Galahad felt like crying and a small snuffle escaped him.

“Oh, no,” Arthur said, face dropping. He looked up at Lance. “I don’t think he likes it…”

Lance looked at Galahad silently, a contemplative look on his face. He rubbed at the scruff of a beard on his chin.

“I don’t think that’s it,” he told Arthur. “I think he’s happy.”

“But he’s crying,” Arthur argued, biting his bottom lip like his mother. “That means he’s sad…”

“Not all tears are sad, kiddo,” Lance replied. He reached over and helped Galahad stand.

The hamster took the assistance gratefully, then rocked forward a bit. To his utter surprise, he moved forward easily. He did it again, and he moved further. 

In seconds, he was zipping around the desk, Arthur watching with a happy awe.

“See?” Lance smiled. “I’d say he likes it just fine.”

And that was when Galahad overestimated himself and wiped out. He skidded into a turned over box of tools.

There was a sharp gasp of breath from Arthur and Galahad struggled to move. Lance reached over and helped him out, holding him in the air for a second before placing him back on the desk.

“Might need a bit of practice, though,” he chuckled.

Galahad shook his head, standing again and rolling around, albeit at a much slower pace.

“But you really think he likes it?” Arthur asked, looking up at his uncle.

“Kid, if he doesn’t, then we’ll just have to try again,” Lance said. “After all, Kingsmen don’t give up.”

Arthur smiled at him, Galahad smiled at Arthur, and a beautiful friendship was born.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LOOK, I'M CAPABLE OF WRITING HAPPY THINGS.
> 
> There will be another Galahad fic soon. And an Uncle Lance one. And a heart wrenching Arthur one.
> 
> You're welcome.


	17. Deck the Halls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang decorates for Christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So [allon-s-k](http://allon-s-k.tumblr.com/) made [this really great voice over](http://allon-s-k.tumblr.com/post/104972429827/as-much-of-friends-as-they-are-arthur-wouldnt) about Lewis getting tangled in Christmas lights and since I haven’t written an Xmas fic for these guys yet, here’s a little contribution.
> 
> I hope I did the recording justice!
> 
> Not beta'd or proof read

Lewis dropped the box of Christmas decorations on the floor with a clunk. Vivi snapped her head up and glared at him, and he smiled sheepishly back at her. 

“Sorry.”

Her face softened at his apology and she shifted where she was kneeling next to the tree. A second huge box was sitting in front of her, half of its contents already strews throughout the living room. The tree, still bare, stood in the corner, giving off a pleasant smell of pine. 

Not that Lewis could actually smell it anymore, but that’s what Vivi kept tell him. He was inclined to believe her. After all, she hadn’t steered him wrong yet.

“Is Arthur bringing up the last one?” she asked, diving back into the box. She rummage through it, clearly looking for something specific.

“Yeah,” Lewis replied. He floated over to her and peered over her shoulder. “What are you looking for?”

“Something….” Vivi responded distractedly. She frowned, moving some fake cotton sheets of snow out of the way. “I don’t think it’s in this box.”

“Well, unless you’re looking for lights, it’s probably not in the box I just carried in,” Lewis told her, watching as Vivi huffed, sitting back on her heels.

She tapped a finger against her lips, looking thoughtful. She was about to respond when a loud thump and a groan reached their ears. They turned at the same time to look at the doorway down the hall, curious. Mystery poked his head out of the bottom of the tree. 

After a moment, Arthur appeared, carrying a giant box labeled “Xmas décor” that was about half his size. He grunted, took a few more steps into the room, and promptly let the cardboard fall from his fingers. 

Even Lewis winced at the sound the thing made when it hit the ground. 

“Yeah, thanks for the help, big guy,” Arthur grumbled, walking around to sit on the couch. He sagged on the cushions with a sigh.

Lewis shrugged. “You said you had it handled.”

While Vivi climbed to her feet and headed to the new arrival, Arthur gave the ghost an unimpressed look.

“I said no such thing.” 

“Well you said something,” Lewis said.

“Yes,” Arthur rolled his eyes. “I said that I might need help carrying this thing up the steps. To which you promptly grabbed the smaller box and took off.”

Lewis snickered. He floated over to sit besides Arthur, taking the blonde’s wrist and holding it up. He then waved the arm in the air.

“Maybe if you had actual arms instead of noodles,” he teased.

With a scowl, Arthur snatched his hand out of Lewis’ grip. “See you say that next time the van breaks down,” he mumbled. He reached over the edge of the couch and grabbed the beer that rested on the end table.

“I’ll just zap it with my ghosty powers,” Lewis grinned, wriggling his fingers, which sparked with purple static.

“You will do no such thing,” Arthur argued. “Gwen needs to be treated with respect.” He took a sip of his drink. 

“It’s a car, Arthur.”

“A car that requires love and care.”

“I’m pretty sure I still have that video.”

“Yeah, and I’ve got that video of you and Mr. Fluffington,” Arthur smirked.

Lewis gasped. “You wouldn’t.”

“You keep up this attitude, and I just might.” 

“Aha!”

Vivi’s victorious cry brought their attention to the blue-clad girl. She emerged from Arthur’s box with a triumphant smile, a silver star clutched in her hands.

“There it is!” she exclaimed. “I knew we put it in one of these last year!” 

Arthur and Lewis glanced at each other, then stared at Vivi.

Her grin turned into a frown, bringing the star closer to her face. Lips downturned, she scratched at the decoration with her nail, the sound making Lewis shudder. 

Even as a ghost, that sound was still awful.

Arthur remained unaffected. Lewis was almost jealous of him.

“Aw, it’s tarnished,” she said softly.

Arthur took another swig, swallowing before speaking. “I think my uncle’s got some shiner in the garage.”

The smile Vivi shot him was vibrant. Arthur blinked as she shot up, ran over, pressed a kiss to his forehead, and zoomed out of the room. Mystery barked once, jumped out of the tree, and followed after her, tail wagging and tongue lolling from his mouth.

Lewis chuckled as Arthur turned wide eyes on him. He jerked a thumb over his shoulder.

“How much cocoa has she had?” he asked. 

“Only three cups, I think,” Lewis sniggered.

“Oh, goody,” Arthur said sarcastically. “Because last year, she only had five and nearly knocked the tree down because she was running around.”

Lewis shrugged, shifting on the couch. He bumped his friend’s shoulder. “What’d you get her for Christmas?”

A panicked look flashed over Arthur’s face and he quickly shushed Lewis. He turned his head a bit to look over the back of the couch. 

“Quiet, man!” he whispered harshly. “She might hear you!”

“She’s in the garage,” Lewis pointed out. 

Arthur turned to Lewis with a no-nonsense expression. “She’s got freaky hearing, dude. I swear, she’s like a bat.” He took another sip-

“I’m more inclined to dog, thanks.”

-and nearly choked on it as Vivi walked back into the room. Arthur hunched over in a coughing fit as Lewis pounded him on the back.

Vivi smirked as Mystery trotted up to her and sat at her feet.

“Yeah, okay, Vi,” Arthur croaked, sitting back up. “Whatever you say.”

Her smirk growing, she pointed at the kitchen. “I’m gonna go in there to clean up the star, so I don’t get the polish all over your uncle’s carpet. 

“You mean so Mystery doesn’t get into it,” Lewis corrected.

He swore the dog glared at him for that.

Vivi merely smiled and turned on her heel, disappearing around the corner into the other room. Lewis turned to Arthur when she popped her head back in.

“Oh, and while I’m doing this,” she told them, “you two can untangle the lights.”

The boys let out twin groans. 

“Do it or I release that picture of you two on that one Halloween,” she said, eyes narrowing.

Arthur squeaked, actually squeaked, and Lewis shuddered at the memory. When he looked back up, Vivi was giving him a sickly sweet look. 

“Have fun, guys!” she grinned, vanishing as quickly as she had come.

Mystery followed at a slower pace, backing out, eyes locked with Lewis the entire time. When he reached the doorway, he narrowed his eyes, stared at the ghost for a moment, before following Vivi.

“You ever think Mystery judges us more than a normal dog?” Lewis turned to ask Arthur.

“All the time, dude.”

“I don’t hear the sounds of lights and cords!” Vivi sang out.

Lewis hurried over to the box and opened it, grabbing a handful of lights and throwing them on the floor. He glanced over to Arthur when the blond didn’t appear at his side.

“You gonna help with these?” he asked.

Because Arthur was a child trapped in a grown man’s body, he let out a groan and, bonelessly, his body slipped from the couch and he ended up a heap on the ground.

And because Lewis was more than use to this type of behavior, he merely tossed a bunch of lights on the man.

Arthur sat up, the lights falling to his lap and he pouted, but he remained where he was.

“You’re her boyfriend,” he grumbled, setting his now empty beer bottle on the floor beside him. “Why do I have to do this?”

“It’s your house,” Lewis replied. 

“So?”

“So, do you really wanna face the wrath of Vivi?”

“…good point.”

Lewis nodded once and grabbed what he thought was the end of a string. It was not. He held up the knot of lights.

“I don’t understand,” he sighed. “We even made sure they were put away properly last year!”

“Got me, dude,” Arthur replied, picking at the mess in his lap. He frowned. “Weren’t these the ones that didn’t work?”

“No, we threw those out,” Lewis told him, attempting to play yo-yo with his own stack. 

“No, no, I’m pretty sure these are the ones that have the split wire.”

Abandoning his yo-yo-ing technique, Lewis opted for the old fashion method of grabbing two ends of the ball and pulling.

He didn’t get very far.

“They had a messed up plug,” he reminded.

“Oh, yeah.”

They were quiet as they worked on their puzzles, a few grumbled curses permeating the room every now and then.

“Got it!”

Lewis snapped his head up and glared at Arthur, who was holding his untangled string of lights triumphantly.

“Show off,” he muttered. 

Arthur grinned at him, then snickered. His soft guffaws quickly turned to giggles, then full out laughter.

“What?” Lewis asked. “What’s so funny?”

“Dude,” Arthur chortled. “Dude, we were supposed to untangle the lights, not become the Christmas tree.”

Lewis frowned and looked at the mess in his hands. There were lights all around his wrists, his arms. He somehow had gotten them wrapped around his torso and his legs. He was even floating and they were still hanging off his ankles.

With a groan, he shoved the string off his hands. It balled up instead, tangling further. He snorted, waving his arms around to try and dislodge the lights.

They only became tighter. He made a frustrated noise and floated sideways, but the lights tethered him to the ground and he was quickly tugged down.

He landed in a pile of bones and lights on the floor and glared at Arthur, who was holding his stomach and laughing hysterically.

He moaned. “Why do  _I_  always become tangled in the Christmas lights?” he lamented.

Arthur, because he was the worst best friend, managed to stop laughing enough to snap pull out his phone and snap a picture. Lewis growled at him, but Arthur merely grinned.

“Hey, Vivi!” he called!

“Arthur, no!” Lewis hissed.

Again, because Arthur was a horrible person, he ignored the ghost. “Come look!” He snuck a side-glance at Lewis again and snickered. “Lewis is a Christmas decoration!”

“Oh, shut up, Arthur!” Lewis exclaimed.

Every. Year.

Sometimes Lewis wondered why he put up with this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might have another oneshot collection fic coming out soon...
> 
> MIGHT.
> 
> So keep an eye out, just in case!


	18. Purgatory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, he just can't figure out which is real.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at me, doing prompts, yay!
> 
> Anon wanted nightmare-riddled Arthur, and so here this is!
> 
> Not beta'd or proof read

He was running. 

That wasn’t uncommon. He ran from a lot of things. He ran from his parents, from his fear, from the truth. He ran from ghosts and ghouls and spirits and demons and all manners of spooky that go bump in the night.

He was an expert, if he did say so himself. He ran when things got too complicated, when he was afraid of what might happen.

It was why he was running now, green mist flowing around him. It parted before him, led the way, while nearly suffocating him from either side, from the back. There were no footsteps behind him, but that didn’t mean the threat wasn’t there.

There were whispers all around him, harsh mumbles that he couldn’t make out but that he knew all the same. He’d heard the same things his entire life.

“Useless.”

“Pathetic.”

“Stupid.”

“Idiot.”

“ _Traitor_.”

The last one was new, but he’d heard it all the same. It haunted him in his waking moments as well as his dreams. 

And he was dreaming. He knew he was dreaming; he’d had this same dream many, many times before. It always ended the same, that he knew, but for the life of him, he couldn’t remember how, exactly.

So he ran.

He followed the green path and the green mist lead the way. Whispers followed him and shadows with glowing eyes of purple and gold and red laughed at him from the sides.

When he got to the bat, he knew things were only beginning. 

The mist didn’t part for him anymore, and he was at a fork in the road. The bat watched him with glowing green eyes, tracking his every moment.

There were two decisions. One of the paths lead down, down, down, spiraling into nothing but pitch black darkness and void. The other, the second, was surrounded by a familiar, comforting purple glow. It went up, up, up to somewhere that he knew, vaguely, was where he was supposed to go.

Under the bat’s watchful gaze, he began to climb, up, up, up. It was long, and he slipped, like trying to walk up a slide. The mist was thick, curling around him in an uncomfortable hug that he couldn’t shake off. 

It took him forever to reach the top, and his hair was sticking to his forehead and the back of his neck. He was trembling, his knees shaking violently as he caught his breath-and when did he get out of breath in the first place?

This was a dream, he shouldn’t be tired.

Voices called out for him, called his name.

Of their own accord, his feet carried him forward and he was helpless to their will. The mist parted again, the whispers ceased, but a new sound became his friend; the flutter of wings was his new companion on this journey now.

He walked, one foot in front of the other, slowly. The mist led the way, and the bat blocked his return.

After another eternity, the green cleared. No, no, that’s not quite right; it remained, just behind him. He turned, pressed a hand against it, and was met with a wall. He could not go back, the mist forming a barrier.

A voice called his name.

He turned and saw others. He couldn’t remember names, couldn’t make out faces. Just shapes and colors and feelings. Warm blue like a spring day after the snow melts. Hot red that was nerves and excitement and some degree of fear. Comforting purple that was protection.

He smiled and willed his feet forward, but they ignored him. He tried to speak, to say their names that he could feel on the tip of his tongue but couldn’t remember, couldn’t make his lips form the letters. No sounds emerged.

There were wings next to his head and he whipped around to find the bat, but there was nothing. When he returned to the colors, they were closer, inches from his face. The purple only seemed farther.

Blue and red whispered nothings at him, hostile tones echoing.

He knew what they said all the same.

“Loser.”

“Fake.” 

“ _Killer_.” 

He flinched, and when he looked again, they were gone. Purple only remained, eons away, and he didn’t want it that far away, wanted it closer, wanted to feel the safety that it provided.

It was standing on a ledge, watching him, and behind him, the rock under foot began to crumble.

He tried to speak, but his words caught in his throat. He wanted to warn the purple one, wanted to save it, make sure it didn’t fall with the rocks from the cliff. 

Somehow, he knew there were spikes at the bottom that were sharper than any worldly possession.

He attempted to move forward again, but instead, the green mist shot forward and pushed him forward. It sped him towards the purple shape with inhuman speed.

It still took years to reach the shape, and even when he stopped, he was still an arms length away. He desperately tried to call out, to will his feet forward.

The rocks fell faster.

“Lewis!”

The name came tearing from his mouth the same time the mist swirled around him, layering itself all over his body.

He couldn’t control his own limbs anymore.

He was helpless as he was forced forward, feet listening to another entity. The rocks fell, more and more, and he saw the spikes at the bottom, their tips glinting with danger and fear and pain even as he watched.

He reached out as he got closer, and yes, he was going to save this one, he was going to pull him back from the edge.

When his fingers touched flesh, though, they did not grip. They pushed, and he watched as the purple stumbled, arms windmilling around.

He called out, desperately wishing to help. But the mist, the green, held his own body hostage against him. It whispered to him.

“Killer!”

“Murderer!”

“Assassin!”

“Executor!”

“MURDERER!”

Almost in slow motion, the purple fell, down, down, down, towards the gleaming spikes. Purple flames erupted around him and wailed at him;

“ _MURDERER_!”

He screamed.

* * *

 

Arthur awoke with the scream on his lips and purple and blue and red filling his vision. He shot up, breathing too fast, gasping for breath and trying not to puke.

“Whoa, hey!” a voice reached his ears and he knew that voice, knew it, had heard it in his dreams, and it caused his stomach to churn.

“Arthur?”

The voice that wasn’t a voice spoke and he whipped his head to it, vision blurry and he saw only purple.

“Arthur, snap out of it.”

Instead of speaking, he felt a hysterical sob wrench it’s way through his upturned lips. His dream, it was just a dream, everything was fine. He was fine, they were all fine.

He reached forward, to grasp at the purple, to feel the protector under his own fingers, when he stopped, and stared.

His arm. There was something wrong with his arm.

“Arthur?”

“What’s wrong with him?”

The arm was not an arm, but a sick contraption made of metal and hate and loathing and he stared at it.

“Arthur, look at me.” 

He looked at his arm, and that’s when he realized that he couldn’t feel it, and yet it was moving, the wrist was turning, the fingers were flexing, he just couldn’t feel it.

The scream he let out was bloodcurdling.

There was a rush of movement all around him, colors swirling together but all he could see was green and grey and purple and green, green-

He clawed at the metal arm, trying to rip it off, tear it off, the friendly shapes that were around him were in danger.

“Get it off!” he cried. He flailed and clawed and tore, but the arm didn’t have a mark on it. “Get it off, get it off, _get it off_!”

There was shouting besides his now, yelling, and he knew he was the cause, knew it was him, knew that he was the threat, but he couldn’t get his arm under control, couldn’t take it off, couldn’t remove the cause of the pain.

Someone grabbed his wrist, the one that was scratching and he let out a panicked cry, thrashing. A pair of hands held him down by the shoulders, but his arm was waving out of his control, he couldn’t make it stop.

“Mystery, get the wrench and the screwdriver!”

“Vivi, what’s happening?”

“He’s not awake yet!”

He screamed in warning as his arm fell against the purple, but the figure merely brushed it away. There was a pressure on his chest and he couldn’t breathe, couldn’t control anything, everything was wrong, it was happening again, all over again, his dream was real, he couldn’t stop it, he couldn’t-

There was a pain in his arm, suddenly, and he yelled out, throwing his head back, clenching his eyes shut. This was it, he was going to die, these things were going to kill him, he was surrounded by green again, he couldn’t _breathe_ -

“Arthur, hold _still_!”

“Vivi, hurry up!”

“Almost…. Got it!” 

There was a hissing sound and he watched as his arm fell from the air, motionless at last. He stared at it, watching to see if it would move.

“Arthur?”

“Mystery, get off him.”

The pressure on his chest was gone in a second and air entered his lungs and he gasped hugely. He took in gulps of air, eyes locked on the metal arm that wasn’t his and he wrenched his wrist from the hand that held it, pushing the grip from his shoulders off as he sat up.

There were warning cries that reached his ears but he ignored them, grabbed the possessed arm, and flung it with all his might. He watched as it hit the opposite wall and fell with a thud on the carpet.

He stared at it, breathing heavily, and gentle hands were on him, guiding him back down. He let them, felt cloth cover his eyes and a hand in his hair and another in his own and he relaxed, feeling the fear leave him and giving him exhaustion as a departing gift. 

His eyes slipped close and he knew nothing.

* * *

When Arthur awoke the second time, it was much more sluggishly and to soft voices and darkness, warmth enveloping him on either side and to someone stroking his hair lightly.

He blinked owlishly, staring at the black that covered his eyes, and briefly wondered if he had gone blind. After a moment’s hesitation, he raised his hand to touch his face, surprised to find a cool cloth covering his eyes. 

The hand in his hair still, the voices stopped, and the warmth shifted.

“Arthur?”

He gripped the towel and pulled it off squinting at the light overhead. After a moment, it was dimmed and he blinked as Vivi’s face swam into his view.

“Hey, sleepy head,” she said softly. There was a small strained smile on her face and worry in her eyes. “You with us this time?” 

“Um…” Arthur responded eloquently. He wondered why, exactly, Vivi was in his bed, his mouth twisting. If Lewis found them, he would not be happy. 

Speaking of Lewis, the ghost chose that moment to make his presence known and Arthur felt his heart skip a beat when the specter entered his vision.

“Arthur, you good?” he asked.

Arthur couldn’t make out a lot of the expressions Lewis made anymore, thanks to, you know, not having a face, really. But he could pick up on tones, and Lewis seemed distressed.

Cold nosed at his cheek and he turned his head to see Mystery peering at him over the yellow glasses, looking perturbed. He smiled and reached out to pet the pup, when he stopped.

His arm was missing.

He stared at the stump of what was left of his arm, confused-

“Arthur?”

-when it all came slamming back into him, The nightmare, the feeling of panic, unable to control his arm. He shot up, eyes wide, and grabbed his arm from Lewis. He felt Vivi tense behind him and Mystery raised his head, but he ignored them.

Closely, he ran a practiced eye over the metal, searching for any trace of green or purple or anything that didn’t belong.

When he was positive that everything was alright, he dropped the arm to bed, turned around and grabbed Vivi by the shoulder, looking her over just as closely.

“I’m okay,” she said softly. She reached up and gripped his wrist tightly. “Arthur, I’m okay.”

“Lewis,” he croaked, and whipped around, eyes searching desperately for the other man. When they landed on the ghost, hovering just beside the bed, he let out a choked laugh and sagged.

“Oh, god,” he raised his hand to his face. “Oh, god, it was a dream. Just a dream…”

It took Arthur  until then to realize that his fingers were bandaged. He took his hand away from his eyes and looked at them curiously before blanching. He couldn’t have… no, no, they were fine, they were all fine…

Unless they weren’t….

He snapped his head and looked at Vivi, who grabbed his face in her hands and forced him to look at her. 

“Arthur, I’m fine, Lewis is fine, Mystery is fine. You were clawing at your metal arm so hard that you wrecked your hands. Listen to me when I tell you that we’re all okay.” She spoke slowly, firmly, and Arthur felt a weight lift off his shoulders. He nodded.

Vivi nodded in response and let him go, slipping her hand into his and squeezing tightly. He smiled weakly at her and Mystery nosed at their hands. His smile turned into a more genuine one.

He was okay, he was fine. Mystery was here. Mystery would have done something if the others were in danger. The fact that the pup seemed calm and assured managed to settle something in Arthur.

“You okay?” Lewis asked, coming to sit down on the bed beside the group. He still hovered slightly, Arthur noted, and he frowned.

“Yeah,” he nodded. He swallowed, feeling Vivi’s solid grip in his own. “Yeah, yeah. I’m good.” He nodded once more, as if to assure himself rather than his friends. “Yeah, it’s cool." 

“Didn’t seem too cool,” Lewis said, glancing away at Vivi. Arthur followed his gaze and Vivi gave him a soft smile. She reached over and brushed his hair from his eyes.

“You haven’t had a nightmare this bad in a really long time, Arthur,” she told him.

He stared at her for a moment, eyebrows scrunching, trying to remember what had happened. He remembered the green mist (he always remembered the green mist), and running. Vague shapes and sounds, the feeling of being possessed again.

“What… what happened?” he asked.

“You were screaming,” Lewis took over. Arthur looked at him. “You were just… you just kept screaming my name… screaming for me…”

Arthur nodded, thinking. It made sense, if he was recalling his dreams correctly.

“Vivi and I tried to wake you up, but… but you couldn’t hear us,” Lewis continued. “You… sort of woke up? A little? You were pretty out of it though. We couldn’t get you to recognize us at all, it was really scary.”

“Then you started crying about your arm and how you just wanted your arm off,” Vivi added. She raised his finger tips and pressed a kiss to them briefly and Arthur slid his eyes to glance at Lewis.

He was expecting anger, annoyance, fury at the way Vivi was interacting with him. But he was surprised to see nothing but concern on the ghost’s face.

Well, as much concern as a skeleton face could show, in the very least.

“You wouldn’t stop tearing at your arm. There was a lot of blood,” Vivi said. “We had to restrain you before we could get the arm off.”

“As soon as it was off, you tossed it away,” Lewis told him. “After that, you… you fell back asleep.”

He stared at the arm on the bed for a moment, gently taking his hand back from Vivi to grip the metal around the lower arm. He brought up to his lap and a small, unintentional laugh bubbled from his mouth.

Flopping backwards onto the bed, he threw his flesh arm over his eyes, still gripping the fake one tightly, a twisted smile on his face.

“Arthur?” Lewis called, and he could hear the worry in his voice.

“I’m okay,” he replied. “Really.” 

“You sure?” Vivi asked. “That was a really bad dream, Art.”

“Really, it’s fine,” Arthur assured. He lowered his arm and looked up at her. “I fell asleep with the arm on, that’s all.” 

Realization hit Vivi’s face as she sagged in relief. She nodded, leaning forward to press a chaste kiss to his forehead. He closed his eyes, humming slightly.

“What your arm got to do with this?” Lewis asked, and Arthur raised his head to look at the specter. He was watching the display with a confused look.

“Vivi, grab me my toolbox?” Arthur asked instead of answering. He sat back up, already picking at the arm. “I think I left it in the van…”

“Yeah, sure thing,” she responded. She hopped off the bed, Mystery following, and slipped on her shoes. She cast Arthur a concerned look, but he waved her off.

Seemingly satisfied, she turned and left the hotel room, closing the door behind her with a soft click. Once she was gone, Arthur could feel Lewis’ gaze burning a hold in his head. 

“The arm’s tricky,” he said, turning it over. “I’ve rigged it so that I get full nerve function, but that doesn’t mean I can feel a lot of things.”

“Arthur.”

“It’s metal is state of the art, made it myself. Lightweight and flexible, but sturdy. The joints were the hardest parts.”

“Arthur, look at me.”

“I’ve got a patent pending for it, actually. It could change the way prosthetics are being used.”

“Arthur.”

“But even though it’s got nerve endings, that doesn’t mean I can feel things with it. It’s more a pressure presence than anything else.”

“Arthur." 

“Lewis,” Arthur snapped, looking up at last. He met Lewis’ gaze head on, trying to communicate what he wanted to say without using so many words.

After all, Lewis was the one who suffered the most out them.

“I can’t _feel_ everything with the arm,” he said firmly. “That’s why I don’t sleep with it on, normally.”

He willed Lewis to understand, to realize that when he awoke disoriented from a nightmare and he couldn’t feel anything with an arm that was clearly attached to him, he panicked because it was happening again.

It was better when he took the arm off to sleep, because when had a nightmare, at least the cause was gone, and he immediately snapped back to reality when he saw the lack of limb.

With the way Lewis was looking at him, Arthur worried he wouldn’t get it.

But he nodded and Arthur let out a huge breath, relaxing marginally. He picked at wire at the end of the arm, and a moment later, Vivi came back in the room, orange toolbox held in her hands. 

She handed it over wordlessly, hand brushing Arthur’s, and he smiled his thanks, plopping the box next to him.

As Arthur opened it, rummaging for his screwdriver, he could hear Vivi and Lewis muttering to each other.

He chose to ignore it and began working on his arm.

He didn’t plan on sleeping the rest of the night, anyways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I love the beginning and the middle of this, but I hate the ending, I'm sorry)


	19. No Limits (Just Epiphanies)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A day in the shop

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has no plot. I just wanted to write happy and get a feel for the shop and work on my Vivi skills.
> 
> Not beta'd or proof read.

Vivi glared at her handheld game as she died once more. She settled back more comfortably against the stack of tires that she had claimed as her throne. Lewis glanced up at her from where he was sitting between her legs, a book in his hands.

“Okay there, Vi?” he asked, eyebrows shooting up underneath the huge sunglasses that he wore to hide his undead eyes.

She scowled in response as she restarted the level. “I can’t beat this level,” she growled lowly in annoyance. “I’ve been working on it for _weeks_ and I’m no closer to completing it now than I was when I started!” 

Lewis chuckled. “I’m sure you’ll get it.”

“Maybe…” she trailed off, focusing solely on her game. Her thumbs were flying over the controls, the clacking of the buttons barely noticeable over the loud music and the sounds of the repair shop around them. 

“Maybe you should take a break from it for a while,” Lewis suggested after she let out a rather explicit swear.

“Maybe you should suck my dick,” Vivi retaliated sweetly, eyes glued to the screen.

Lewis winced and she sighed, pausing her game, settling it on the tire to her left. “Sorry, babe,” she said.

The ghost waved her off easily. “Don’t worry about it.”

“It just frustrates me,” she complained, leaning forward to drape her arms over his broad shoulders. “I’m usually so good at these things.”

Lewis leaned back against her, closing his book and using his thumb to hold his place. “I would think that you’d enjoy a challenge,” he said. 

“Normally, yes,” Vivi said, placing her chin on the top of his head. “But I just keep dying before I can even do anything!”

She was infinitely happy when the wording didn’t seem to phase Lewis in the slightest. It seemed that they had gotten past that particular bump fairly quickly. Instead, Lewis merely tipped his head. Vivi raised her head to let him and blinked as he grinned at her.

“Maybe you’re just not as good at it as you think,” he smirked.

Vivi stared at him, then scowled. She swatted playfully at his shoulder. “Listen here, mister,” she started. He snickered. “I am an extremely good gamer, I’ll have you know. I-”

She was cut off as a crash resounded around the shop. Both she and Lewis glanced over to where it came from, the sound of scuffling and parts falling coming from the front.

After only a short pause, there was a small zooming sound and a tiny “nyoom!” passed them in a flash of orange and black and silver. Vivi barely had time to follow it before a loud bark reached her ears and she whipped her head around.

Mystery came barreling down the front, a belt of some sort sticking to his collar and trailing behind him. He slipped on the floor, nearly crashing into the tower of tires that Vivi and Lewis were sitting on. He picked himself up easily before tearing off after the small rocket, barking madly.

Vivi watched, blinking, as the sound faded, only to be replaced by the enraged roar of a new threat.

“ARTHUR!”

Lewis flinched. “Uh oh…”

“Where is that boy?” a furious Lance shouted, coming around the same corner that Mystery had just rounded. He looked annoyed more than anything. “How many times have I told him to keep an eye on that hamster?”

“Hey, Mr. Kingsmen,” Lewis greeted, giving a little wave.

The older man stopped, scowling. “Didn’t know you kids were here,” he muttered.

“Sorry,” Vivi said. “We can leave if you want…”

Lance waved a hand in the air. “Don’t be ridiculous, I’m not gonna kick you out. Your dog, I might, but you two can stay.”

“Did someone say dog?” 

The group turned to see a young man, around the same age as Vivi, striding towards them with Mystery in his arms. The dog’s tongue was out, and his tail wagged when he saw Vivi. He gave a small, happy yip. 

“Mystery,” Vivi scolded, climbing down from her throne and accepting the mutt. She held him an arms length away from her. “You know better than to chase Galaham.”

The dog’s ear drooped and his tail curled slightly. 

Vivi tutted, beginning to work the belt off of his collar. “Thanks, Percy,” she said. She had always liked Percy, the man a constant happy face even when all the others seemed downtrodden.

The newcomer smiled. “No problem. Figured the little guy could use some help when he nearly got caught in the tire net.” He turned to Lewis. “Hey, Lewis.” 

“Hello, Percy,” Lewis responded warmly. Vivi finished untangling Mystery and smoothed out his coat. “There.” She set him down on the ground and looked pointedly at him. “You be a good boy, okay? Don’t go chasing Galaham anymore.”

Properly chastised, Mystery slinked off, probably to beg for treats from the other workers, who adored the pup.

“Perce, have you seen that nephew of mine?” Lance asked, scowling. “He was supposed to finish the Johnson’s van an hour ago.”

Percy nodded. “Yeah, he got that done two hours ago. I think he’s in The Workshop now, actually.”

Lance groaned. “Of course he is.” He began to stalk towards the back of the shop, muttering under his breath.

“And he was supposed to join us for lunch thirty minutes ago,” Lewis added, glancing at the clock above the window. 

Vivi blinked. “Wait, what’s The Workshop?” she asked. She’d been coming here for years, but she’d never heard of this particular area before. She felt excitement begin to bubble up in her at the prospect of learning something new.

It was Lewis who answered. “It’s Arthur’s private area to work on projects,” he told her. She looked over at him as he dog-eared his page and set the book besides her game and came over to her and Percy.

Percy nodded in agreement. “Lance gave it to him so that he’d stop leaving his stuff everywhere out here in the shop.”

Vivi whirled on Lewis and pointed a finger in his surprised face. “And you didn’t tell me about this?” she accused.

Lewis shrugged. “It never came up?”

A chuckle brought their attention back to Percy. He grinned at them and turned, beckoning them to follow. “Come on, I’ll show you. If Lance went to go bug him, there’s a good chance he’ll be coming out whether he wants to or not.”

He led the way through the maze of cars and tables packed with tools. Many of the workers, who Vivi knew, waved at them or greeted them as they passed. Percy looked over his shoulder at them.

“How’s that van holding up?” he asked. 

“Guinevere?” Vivi replied. “Oh, it’s great. Arthur only fixes what’s broken, so, you, know, it’s still a piece of crap.”

“Aw, I’m sure it’s not that bad,” Percy replied.

“Last week, the front bumper fell off,” Lewis deadpanned.

“He fixed it with duct tape,” Vivi added. “Seriously, I dunno why he just doesn’t put more time and effort into it.”

Percy shrugged. “I’m sure he has his reasons.”

“He says it adds character,” Lewis said.

“And that’s why he named her Guinevere,” Percy grinned. His smile widened when he turned to face forward and he made a beeline for a nearby workbench. He rummaged through it for just a second before emerging with a hamster, wheels for his back legs, in his hand.

“Galaham!” Vivi exclaimed, rushing forward.

“There’s the little guy!” Percy cried. He gently pet the rodent with his other hand. “What have we told you about teasing Mystery, huh?”

The hamster merely squeaked at him and hopped into Vivi’s outstretched hand. She held him close, cooing at him.

“He’s still around?” Lewis asked, looking around Vivi. 

Galahad narrowed his eyes and Lewis snapped his hand back.

“Galaham, don’t be rude,” Vivi chastised. She put the little hamster on her shoulder and continued to follow Percy to the back.

“Ah, I’m sure he’s just feeling testy,” Percy placated. “Arthur tends to ignore everyone, Galaham included, when he holes up in The Workshop.”

Vivi frowned. “How come.”

“Oh, it’s not of any fault of his own,” the other man assured.

Lewis piped up from behind her. “He just gets really into his work and forgets that other people exist.”

They came to a huge door, cracked open a bit. Percy stood in front of it proudly. “See for yourself,” he smiled. “Welcome to The Workshop.”

With a flourish, he shoved the door open.

Vivi peered inside, eyes wide.

“That is one hell of a mess.” 

It was like a robot had thrown up and then a tornado had blown the bits everywhere. 

There were random machine parts strewn all over the floors, the walls. Circuit boards littered the corners. Coils and wires twisted all over the lights and the tables and chairs. Mechanical belts and screws and nails rolled everywhere. Oil cans and grease jars, varying levels of empty, dotted all the available space left. 

And sitting in the middle, a pair of safety goggles on and a soldering torch in his hand, stood Arthur. He poured over a long piece of metal, sparks flying from the torch and hitting his mechanic uniform, which, for once, was actually worn properly.

He finished with the torch and lifted up his goggles, squinting at the metal before him. He frowned. 

“Arthur!” Percy called.

The blond didn’t seem to hear him.

“Hey, Arthur!”

The other man looked up, a blank look on his face. Vivi saw his eyes land on Percy, then Lewis, then her. Galahad hopped from her shoulder and zipped further into the room, disappearing among the havoc.

He waved a hand in response before flipping down his goggles and going back to soldering.

“Yeah, just give him a minute,” Percy said. “Lance should be here-”

“Arthur!”

“-right about now.”

Vivi moved out of the way quickly as Lance Kingsmen came barging into The Workshop. She quickly stepped aside and let him through, and watched with amusement as he marched up to his nephew.

And because Lance was the type of person you heard over a blender filled with nails and screws, Arthur immediately stopped what he was doing and yanked off his goggles, eyes wide as he took in his uncle’s furious gaze.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he asked.

Arthur looked down at his project. “Uh… working?”

“No,” Lance told him, jabbing the younger man in the chest. “You’re playing around with that new thing you designed.”

The blond looked up at his uncle. “Um…”

Vivi looked over at Percy. “Should we leave?”

“Nah,” Percy shook his head. “Just watch.”

She turned to Lewis uncertainly and he smiled, jerking his head at the duo.

“You were supposed to be working on Hugh’s convertible after you finished the van!” Lance exclaimed.

“I did that already,” Arthur responded, setting the torch on the bench behind him. He grabbed something else off the shelves and threw it to Lance, who caught it easily. “And there’s Mrs. Bufford’s transmission shaft.”

Lance examined the part easily. He snapped his head up at Arthur.

“The oil change for Learman’s pick-up?”

“Done.”

“Terry’s tire change and Jordan’s rotation?”

“Finished an hour ago.” 

Lance narrowed his eyes. “You were supposed to tell me when you were done so we could finish that new hydraulic mechanism.”

Arthur gave him a sheepish grin. “Sorry. Forgot. I wanted to get a jump on this, though,” he gestured to whatever he was working on. 

“You file the patent for it?" 

“Yeah. They said we’ve got a month to get a prototype before they’ll make it official.”

“Fine,” Lance growled. He reached out grabbed Arthur by the upper arm and hauled him closer to him. “But I bet there’s one thing you forgot to do.”

A confused look crossed Arthur’s features and Vivi felt a flash of worry. She knew that Lance would never hurt Arthur-he loved the kid like his own son-but he could be a bit rough at times.

“I don’t…” Arthur frowned. “I thought I did everything…”

Vivi cast Lewis an apprehensive glance, but the ghost merely smiled and held a finger to his lips, tapping them once before pointing at the two Kingsmen. She turned her attention back to them.

In one fluid motion, Lance ripped the hammer that was in Arthur’s other hand away and spun the blond around to face their audience. Arthur had a shocked look on his face as his uncle gently but forcefully pushed him towards Vivi and Lewis.

“Bet you didn’t eat a thing today,” Lance grumbled. Arthur looked Vivi and Lewis with wide eyes before he craned his neck back to look at the older man.

Lance grinned at him. 

“But I-”

“Nope,” Lance said, shaking his head. He grabbed the soldering torch off the shelf and the hamster that was attached. He gently plucked Galahad from the contraption and placed him in Arthur’s hands as he strode passed the group. “You’re going. Boss’s orders.”

“But, Uncle Lance, I-”

“Hey, Vivi, Lewis,” Lance turned to them now, ignoring a sputtering Arthur. “Make sure he doesn’t come back until he’s eaten at least a full meal, yeah?”

Vivi grinned and saluted lazily. “Sir, yes sir!”

Lance grinned at her and nodded at Lewis as he headed to the door. “Bring me back a doggy bag,” he said. He beckoned to Percy. “And I guess something for this guy, too.”

Percy chuckled as he made to follow his boss. “Have fun, guys.”

Vivi smiled and nodded, turning to Arthur, who was watching the entire exchange with a slack jaw. 

“Did that just happen?” he asked, turning wide eyes to Vivi.

“Yup,” she replied happily. She reached forward and grabbed his wrist, tugging him forward. “Lunch!”

“I know just the place,” Lewis said, leading the way.

“Oh, no,” Arthur frowned. “Lewis, I am _not_ doing the spicy food thing.”

“Beggars can’t be choosers,” Lewis told him.

“I am not a beggar.”

“You are since you forgot about our lunch plans in the first place.”

“I was working!”

“You were playing.”

As the two continued to bicker, Vivi smiled to herself. Mystery caught sight of her and hurried to her side.

This was better than any video game could ever be.

Even if it was more frustrating at times than normal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YAY, PERCY! :D
> 
> **EDIT:** Layout of what I think the shop looks like can be found [here](http://dontfeeddaelves.tumblr.com/post/105642591183/my-headcanon-for-what-kingsmen-mechanics-looks) on my tumblr.


	20. The Greatest Pretenders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just because Lewis is a ghost doesn't mean that he always knows what his new powers are doing when he starts to sense things out of order

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Bossling](http://bossling.tumblr.com/) drew [this fantastic piece of art](http://bossling.tumblr.com/post/105374689645/dont-be-sorry-dont-be-sad-you-never-meant-to) that I literally stare at daily because I am a loser and I just kind of felt like writing a small little drabble/character study for it.
> 
> And this was born, so.
> 
> Not beta'd or proof read

Lewis snapped his eyes open when he felt it, narrowed purple irises combing over the dark room suspiciously.

Something was wrong.

Slowly, carefully, he examined the hotel room intensely, looking for any sign that something was amiss. Vivi was sound asleep in the bed by the window, snoring softly. Mystery was curled up at the end of her bed, nose tucked under his leg as his tail wound around his tiny body, also deep in slumber. Even Arthur, occupying the bed by the door, was sleeping soundly, his metal arm sitting on the end table next to him.

There was no sign of a ghost so far as he could tell, no demon, no traces of any ectoplasm. The light in the bathroom that Arthur insisted on keeping on wasn’t flickering, the radiator on which Lewis sat still thrumming solidly.

But it was there. Something. Lewis could feel the change instantly, could sense that there was something off all of a sudden.

If it wasn’t a ghost, though, he had no idea what it could be.

Mystery was still asleep, so that ruled out any sign of intruder. But Lewis was damn well sure that he was right about this.

He easily floated from his perch to stand on the ground, feet just barely brushing the rough carpet. Quietly, he made his way around the room, looking closely to see if there was anything out of place, letting out a frustrated puff of flame when he came full circle and saw nothing.

Maybe he had imagined it; he was often a little more paranoid than usual these days, which was sort of understandable.

Still, he felt uneasy, as if the mood in the room had shifted.

Instead of returning to his seat atop the radiator, Lewis sat down gently at the edge of Vivi’s bed. Mystery stirred slightly when he came too close, but settled down just as fast. Lewis looked at him fondly for a moment before one of Vivi’s loud snores caught and she turned from her pretzel configurement and sprawled to her back.

Lewis grinned and reached forward, gently brushing a stray hair from where the girl was close to swallowing it. He remembered sleeping with her, back when he was human and could actually sleep; some nights kept awake as she tossed and turned and snored directly in his ear, clinging to him with octopus limbs. Other mornings, he awoke with bruises that he had not gone to bed with, shaped suspiciously like Vivi’s foot.

Still, he kind of missed those nights. Missed having her in his arms as they fell to sleep softly, the smell of her shampoo filling his nose as he pressed a soft kiss to her hair.

She snorted loudly and Lewis held a hand up to his mouth, stifling a giggle. How one girl could be so adorable and yet so ridiculous at the same time was a mystery even to him.

Lewis hoped that was one case he never solved.

He watched her for a moment longer before turning to the other member of their group.

Where Vivi was restless and loud, Arthur was still and quiet, curled up on his side with face turned towards Vivi. It was peaceful in his sleep, missing the worry lines and the twitches from when he was awake. Lewis was struck by how different the other man looked from his waking moments, terrified eyes hidden by delicate lids.

He looked like the twenty-two year old he was instead of the forty year old man that Lewis sometimes saw looking back at him.

It was curious how they had all become friends, so different as they were. Vivi with her enthusiasm, Mystery with his excitement, Lewis and his cool head, and Arthur with his brains.

Still, Lewis mused as he watched Arthur’s face, a single stream of tears pouring out of the blonde’s eye and over the bridge of his nose, he wouldn’t-

Lewis froze, eyes widening as he did a double take. Looking closer, he realized that no, he hadn’t been hallucinating; Arthur was crying.

He stared, unsure of what to do. Should he wake the man? Lewis had a feeling that he’d either startle him or merely make him embarrassed. But Arthur was clearly upset.

That must have been the upset that Lewis had felt earlier, and he could have kicked himself for not noticing sooner.

He sat there, on Vivi’s bed, watching as Arthur made not a single sound, but the tears continued to flow. A small wet patch had appeared on the man’s pillow, and yet he made no signs of waking, no shuddering breath. Just the silent tears and Lewis’ vigil.

Arthur had suffered from nightmares even before Lewis had died, waking with a gasp for breath and a shaking frame. But other than that, Lewis had never heard the man cry out, as if he was afraid of making noise. Lewis had had many mornings when they were sleeping in the van where he woke to Arthur sitting in the front, tinkering with some small gadget and dark circles under his eyes that spoke of a sleepless night.

Lewis had always wished Arthur would tell him about the dreams, but the blond never did. Merely smiled and shrugged and brushed it off as no big deal, as he was wont to do when it came to his own welfare.

But to be caught in a dream, not a nightmare, where he cried without a sound, must have been the most heartbreaking thing Lewis had seen his friend do yet.

Making up his mind, Lewis stood and crossed the small space between the beds, coming to stand before Arthur. He looked down at him, then reached out and, carefully, gently, brushed away the tears.

When the stream only continued, Lewis went to the other side of the bed and noiselessly and weightlessly climbed on. Carefully, he managed to wrap his arms around Arthur, bringing the man close. He put one hand gently over Arthur’s heart, feeling the muscles beat without fail, and with his other, wrapped it around the stump of his arm. The long sleeve tee that the man wore bunched between his fingers, but Lewis paid it no mind.

Instead, he concentrated on trying to get the crying to stop; that maybe, with his physical presence, he could comfort Arthur and make him feel safer, better, while he slept.

And that was where he stayed the rest of the night, long after the tears had dried up and left nothing but tracks on Arthur’s face.

He was gone before Arthur woke up in the morning, however, pleased to see the absent of those dark bags when the blond reattached his arm.

And if Vivi woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and saw them on the bed together, she didn’t say a thing.

Because her boys were finally on their way to healing.

Both of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *fart noises*
> 
> Most of the time, I post chapters and updates on [my tumblr](http://dontfeeddaelves.tumblr.com/) before I post them on here. I also have a lot of headcanons that I will probably never write there, too, so if you feel like stopping by, having a chat, or discussing said headcanons (also OC's for future fics, mostly the gang's family), I will welcome you with open arms!


	21. Bleed This Skyline Dry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vivi makes them watch HtTYD 2. Not everyone is thrilled...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [ectoimp](http://ectoimp.tumblr.com/) mentioned [this](http://ectoimp.tumblr.com/post/106467770669/ectoimp-you-know-what-movie-arthur-probably) a while ago, and I recently bought the movie and watched it again, and I just couldn't get it out of my head. They were kind enough to let me write the thing and...
> 
> Yeah.
> 
> As seen on [my tumblr](http://dontfeeddaelves.tumblr.com/post/108602715968/bleed-this-skyline-dry).
> 
> Not beta'd or proofread, as usual.

Lewis didn’t realize that anything was wrong until Arthur got up halfway through the movie and left the room without a word.

Vivi looked at him and paused the film; the front door slammed shut and she blinked in bewilderment.

"Uh…" Lewis frowned, looking at the direction their friend had gone.

He gave Vivi a curious glance, and the blue-clad woman matched his frown, sliding down from where she had been peering over the back of the couch.

"I don’t know what his problem is with this movie," Vivi muttered, turning the remote over in her hands. "He did the same thing when we saw it in theaters."

Lewis looked at the frozen picture on screen, at Toothless’ sad and rejected expression and cocked his head. “I didn’t know you’d already seen it.”

Vivi nodded. “Yeah, we went when it first came out. You were…” she hesitated and Lewis took her hand. She smiled softly up at him. “Anyways, we got to this same part and he just… he walked out. Thought everything was okay, he just had to use the bathroom or something. Found him waiting in the van afterwards smoking, the little shit; told me he quit.”

With a soft hum, Lewis gave her hand a small, reassuring squeeze. Vivi huffed, yanking her hand back and throwing herself back against the couch cushions, crossing her arms over her chest. She flung the remote onto the empty space besides her.

"Maybe he was bothered by something," Lewis suggested. He scooted closer towards her. "He usually doesn’t sit through something if he’s upset with it."

The woman scowled. “Literally the only thing that’s happened is Stoic dying, I don’t get it.”

Lewis shrugged.

"I don’t understand what his beef is with it," she grumbled. "I mean, we’ve seen worse than someone dying in a kid’s cartoon."

"I’m sure there’s a reason for it," Lewis told her. "There’s always a reason."

Vivi shrugged, glaring at the black dragon on the television. She hit play and the movie resumed. “Yeah, sure, whatever. If he doesn’t want to finish it, we’ll just do it without him.”

"You don’t think we should check on him first?" Lewis glanced over his shoulder at the door. "I mean, we should probably make sure he’s okay…"

Vivi slid down a little on the couch, her sweater bunching up around her neck. “But I want to finish the movie,” she whined.

The ghost was already partway standing. “It’ll just take a little bit.”

"Aw, but this is where it gets good," Vivi said. "I mean, Toothless killed Stoic, and Hiccup’s really upset about it! You just  _know_  that some great shit is… going… down…” Her eyes widened and she sat up, knocking the bowl popcorn beside her to the floor, kernels going everywhere.

Concern engulfed Lewis. “Vivi?”

"Oh, my God," she whispered, turning eyes as big as saucers to Lewis, who watched her with worry. "I didn’t… I didn’t realize…"

"Vivi, what’s wrong?" Lewis immediately sat back down. "What happened?"

"Oh, how could I be so stupid?" she cried, letting her face fall into her hands. She shook her head. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!"

Lewis frowned. “Vivi, what?”

"The movie," came her muffled voice. She raised her head a little to peer over her fingers at the ghost. "In the movie, Toothless is literally forced to kill someone he cares about, and then Hiccup pushes him away…"

Lewis blinked at her, confused. “I don’t…”

"He was  _forced_  to  _kill_  someone,” Vivi repeated. “And now he thinks that the one person whose opinion matters the most  _hates_  him and-oh, I’m such a fool for not seeing this earlier!” She buried her face once more.

It took a moment, but Lewis finally realized what Vivi was talking about. His eyes widened as it dawned on him.

"Oh…"

Face still in her hands, Vivi nodded. 

Silence enveloped them, that slightly awkward air of sadness and not knowing what to do or say hanging above them. Lewis stared at the couch cushion patterns, unsure.

Steeling himself, Lewis knew what he had to do.

"I’ll go talk to him."

The speed at which Vivi raised her head to look at him was impressive, and Lewis blinked. She shook her head.

"No, no, I should," she said. "I’m the one that made him rewatch it. I should-"

She stopped when Lewis placed a large hand on her shoulder, looking up at him.

"It’s okay," he reassured with a small smile. "I got this, trust me. Besides, I’m pretty sure that I’m the one that he needs to hear this from in the first place."

Vivi deflated, glancing away. “Yeah, alright…”

Pressing a quick kiss to her forehead, Lewis stood, easily floating above the mess on the floor.

"Clean this up while I’m gone, yeah?"

His response was a pillow phasing through his chest.

With a slight chuckle, he made his way to the door, poking his head out of the house and glancing around the wooded area. Lance’s house was secluded, surrounded by forest and trees besides the mechanic shop just next door. Lewis noted the overhead door light on and quickly flew over, sure that Arthur had gone that way.

He easily poked his head through the wall, looking at the dark lobby area, only catching the weak light coming from the garage on the other side. Without waiting, for fear of backing out, Lewis surged forward. All the lights in the garage were off, save the one above the door. There was a sliver coming from The Workshop, where the door wasn’t fully closed, and Lewis immediately made his way towards it.

Peering inside, he saw Arthur sitting at his workbench, the room’s overhead light on as well as the little light at the desk. Arthur was completely focused on whatever project was in front of him, back hunched and shoulders tense.

Lewis came all the way through the wall before Arthur’s voice halted him in his tracks.

"I’m not finishing that movie."

Blinking, Lewis paused for a second before sliding up behind the blond. Arthur stiffened briefly before going back to using a screwdriver on his… metal contraption in his hands. Lewis honestly had no idea what the thing was, and was a little too nervous to ask; usually Arthur’s project explanations went over his head anyways.

"Didn’t say you had to," Lewis replied, watching as Arthur set down his tool and picked up another, one that Lewis did not recognize.

Arthur was silent and Lewis watched him work for a moment in quiet. It was only when Arthur glanced at him out of the side of his eyes for the fifth time that Lewis decided to speak.

"You know, if you didn’t want to watch the movie, we could have just picked another one."

Arthur dropped his tool and hurriedly grabbed a wrench, putting a little too much force in the way he turned a bolt.

"You know how Vivi is," he said. "Once she has her mind set to something."

"I’m sure she would have reconsidered."

"But you haven’t seen it."

Lewis shrugged. “I can always watch it another time.”

Arthur didn’t respond to that one, twisting away with his wrench. Lewis watched for a minute.

"You know," he said, "I think we’ve still got those F.R.I.E.N.D.S. DVD’s somewhere. We could probably-"

In a flash, Arthur was standing, throwing his wrench down loudly on the workbench as he turned angrily to Lewis.

"Alright, that’s it," he snarled. Lewis floated involuntarily backwards at the blonde’s expression. " _Stop_  trying to cheer me up!”

Lewis frowned. “Arthur, I’m not-“

"Just  _stop_  it!” Ignoring him, the blond continued, his hands reaching up to grip at his hair, eyes clenched shut as he hunched over. “Nothing you say is going to make me feel better, alright? I hate the movie. I hate that fucking movie and everything about it, and I hate that Vivi made us watch it again!”

Reaching out, Lewis tried to grasp Arthur’s shoulder, to calm him, to ground him. But Arthur flinched away from him, back hitting the bench and trapping him between Lewis. The ghost realized this a second before a wrench came flying at his head. He ducked, momentarily forgetting that it would not harm him.

In retrospect, maybe making Arthur feel caged when he was already upset and still frightened by Lewis’ mere appearance wasn’t one of Lewis’ more bright ideas. He jerked to the side as the screwdriver was aimed directly at his forehead.

"Arthur, wait," Lewis tried, sidestepping as a hammer was thrown at him. "I’m not-" he surged forward when he saw Arthur reach for the wrench, wrapping his large hand around the other man’s small wrist. "Arthur,  _stop_.”

"You don’t understand!" Arthur screamed, face twisted into an agonized look. His eyes spoke volumes of his misery. "It was  _me_ , Lewis! I’m the damn reason you weren’t even able to see the stupid fucking movie when it came out!” Lewis felt him trying to pull from his grip, and only held on tighter. “I’m the fucking reason that everything is shit!”

"Arthur!" Lewis cried. He jerked the smaller man around, trying to get him to look him in the eye. "Arthur, look at me! It’s not all shit, I’m right here!"

But Arthur was having none of it, struggling to free himself.

"It wasn’t your fault!" Lewis yelled. "Whatever was in that cave  _made you do it_. I know you’d never hurt me, Arthur! I  _know_  that, just like you’d never hurt Vivi or Mystery or Lance or any of the guys that work here! You’re not that kind of person!”

Arthur’s attempts began to slow and the blond looked to the side, eyes clenched tightly shut and chest heaving as he fought to control himself. Lewis could see the effort it was taking, noticed as Arthur bit his bottom lip to keep it from trembling, and his heart ached.

"You’re my best friend, Arthur," Lewis said softly. "My  _best_  friend.” He took a half step backwards, hand still wrapped around Arthur’s wrist. “I forgave you ages ago. You just have to accept that and start forgiving yourself…”

Arthur took in a shuddering breath and wrenched his arm away from Lewis, who let it go without resistance. He clutched the metal appendage to his chest closely, back still pressed against the edge of the table, and took in shuddering breaths. Lewis pretended not to see the few tears that managed to make their way down Arthur’s cheeks.

Lewis wished there was something he could do, something he could say, but there was nothing else. It was all up to Arthur now.

When Lewis decided that there was nothing more, he sighed, turning. Without a word, he began to make his way out of The Workshop, intending to go back with Vivi and finish the film, without Arthur, for it seemed his friend had a lot to think about.

He was surprised when the blond called him back.

"Wait…"

The sound was small, shaky, and full of emotion that Lewis had never heard before. He spun to look at Arthur, shocked when the smaller man hurdled into his chest and wrapped his arms around him. Lewis could feel him trembling with silent sobs.

Without another word, Lewis embraced him, clutching him as close as he could. Arthur was always very touchy, very clingy, always needed reassurance with small pats or brushes that someone was there; less now than when Lewis had been alive. In fact, this was the first bodily contact that the two of them had shared since Lewis had rejoined the group.

Not that Lewis was complaining as he pulled Arthur closer, rubbing a soothing hand up and down Arthur’s back as he pulled him closer.

They stayed like that for a long while, until Arthur’s shaking ceased and his tears stopped. He pulled away from Lewis, then, and the ghost let him, noting how he didn’t go too far. Arthur wiped at his face, clearing away the wetness and leaving his face splotchy and eyes rimmed with red. He looked at Lewis’ feet, his flesh arm crossed over his chest to grip at his metal elbow.

Looking down at himself, Lewis chuckled. “Good think I’m a ghost, otherwise I think you’d have ruined my suit.”

There was a short moment of silence before Arthur’s lip twitched and he finally, finally, glanced up and looked Lewis in the eyes. The taller man grinned down at him.

"Yeah, lucky you," Arthur said, but Lewis noted how he instantly relaxed at the familiar jesting.

Lewis jerked a thumb back at the door. “So, wanna go rejoin Vivi now?”

Arthur gave a short pause. “Yeah… yeah, alright…”

Nodding in approval, Lewis led the way, waiting patiently as Arthur shut off the lights and locked up behind him. They walked in companionable quiet across the lawn back to the house, letting the screen door slam shut behind them.

When they walked into the living room, Vivi’s head popped up and she peered at them over the back of the back of the couch. Lewis watched as her eyes zeroed in on Arthur’s current state, narrowing before snapping the blue orbs back to Lewis. When he gave her a small smile, she raised an eyebrow, saying nothing as Arthur retook his previous seat at the end of the couch.

"So," Vivi said as Lewis joined in his normal spot in the middle, "I figure we can watch some sort of comedy. Or maybe just Star Wars, since that’s always a good choi-"

"No, that’s… that’s okay, Vi," Arthur said softly. Vivi glanced at Lewis before refocusing on Arthur. "We can finish the movie."

Vivi bit her lip. “But you don’t-“

"It’s okay, really," Arthur insisted, meeting Lewis’ gaze. He nodded once. "I’m… I’m alright."

When Vivi still looked skeptical, Arthur rolled his eyes and reached over Lewis, plucking the remote out of her hand and rewinding the disc back to where they had left off initially. He clicked the play button and Lewis noticed the small tremor to his hand and the way his knuckles were white around the device, but he didn’t say anything.

The movie continued playing and Lewis watched with rapt attention, eyes wide as things unfolded on screen.

He could see why the scene had upset Arthur, could understand what the blond had thought when he’d initially seen it. He could only imagine how Arthur had felt while watching this, the memories still fresh in his mind and the feelings of betrayal running rampant in his mind, the same things being shouted back at him from the screen.

It was no wonder that Arthur had gotten the hell out of there.

During the whole part, Arthur was ramrod straight in his seat. Lewis reached over, palm up, and offered his hand. He was a little surprised when Arthur accepted his invitation, the man’s metal hand curling around his ghostly fingers. He let himself smile a little as Hiccup tried in vain to get his dragon back.

And if he was the only one to hear the small gasp of breath, see the quivering lip, felt the way Arthur’s grip tightened in his hold when Hiccup’s speech almost mirrored his own, well…

No one else had to know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Weak ending is weak...


	22. Terrible Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur has something he'd like to tell Lance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE READ!!!
> 
> This chapter contains themes of sexualities and strong hints of unacceptance and implies verbal abuse. Please be careful while reading.

Okay, he could do this.

He built his own functional robot when he was seven, successfully hacked the school’s permanent records when he was eleven. He skipped the sixth and seventh grade and fixed his first car when he was thirteen.

He could totally do this.

Arthur’s reflection in the car window dropped and his shoulders drooped.

There was no way in hell that he could do this.

He looked himself in his amber eyes and let out a soft groan, letting his forehead smear itself over the glass, nose brushing the window.

“Come on, Arthur,” he whispered. “Just do it. Just walk up to him and tell him. You did once, you can do it again.”

_Yeah, and look how well that turned out_.

Clenching his eyes shut, Arthur gently kicked the car tire to his side and spun, letting his back slide down the car door and his bottom hitting the cement floor. He brought his legs in, wrapping his arms around them and resting his chin on his knees.

There was a gas stain on the ground a few feet away and he felt his gaze drawn to it.

He had to do this. He had to. He had to Lance, couldn’t go on not knowing. He was living on the edge with his uncle oblivious.

Arthur was just worried that it would turn out like last time. That he’d be tossed out, disgraced, disowned; hurt and afraid and unsure and just so lost. But at least then he’d had somewhere to go. He could rely on Lance, then. He came to his uncle’s house in the middle of a stormy night.

He had to do this.

Lance deserved to know.

For Lance. 

He owed his uncle everything. Lance deserved the same.

Sighing, Arthur let his head hang. “For Lance…” he muttered.

Steeling himself, the blond rose from his position and slowly trudged around the shop, looking for a similar head of hair that he saw in the mirror every day.

Lance was crouched by one of the big trucks in the back, carefully twisting a bolt back into the wheel with a socket wrench. Arthur worried his bottom lip, took a deep breath, and stepped forward.

“Hey, uh, Uncle Lance?” 

The small man snapped his head up, eyes instantly landing on the blond a few feet away. He gave a small smile and jerked his head towards the vehicle.

“Ah, there you are,” he went back to his task, “go grab your toolbox and get working on that other wheel. Owner’s coming tomorrow to pick this baby up and I want her to purr like a kitten. She needs your touch, kid.” 

Arthur wondered how much his uncle would think of him after…

“Yeah, sure…” Arthur said quietly.

And did not move. 

It took Lance a moment to notice the lack of movement and when he did, he looked back up, scowling.

“Well?” he snapped expectantly. “That tire ain’t gonna bolt itself.”

It was now or never. 

“Uh, there’s… there’s something I have… I have to… I have too… have too…” Arthur cursed himself as his uncle raised a bushy eyebrow at him. He could do this, dammit. _Stop stuttering and spit it out, Kingsmen, don’t be a wimp._

“I need to… to tell you something…” he managed to get out, taking a deep breath and glancing away. _Come on, man, you can do this. You can do this. You can do this…_

When he didn’t say anything more, Lance got the ball rolling. It was one thing that Arthur normally loved about him, but at the moment, all he wanted was for his uncle to let this one go, please, just let it go.

“You gonna spill the beans on this any time soon?” he asked, his gruff voice doing nothing to comfort the younger man.

Holding in his wince, Arthur took a deep breath and gathered his courage. Forcing himself to look back up at Lance, he swallowed once before speaking. “Uh, yeah… yeah, I’m…”

Good Lord, he was pathetic. He couldn’t even get the words out, god damn, it was a wonder Lance had put up with him this long. 

“Kid,” Lance’s voice made him jump more than he’d like to admit and Arthur peeked at the smaller man guiltily. Lance was looking at him with a frown. “You okay?” 

Arthur swallowed once and nodded. “Yeah, yeah, I’m just… I’m…”

Oh, my god, he couldn’t do it.

He couldn’t do this, he was too afraid. He couldn’t chance the probability that the same thing would happen again. There was an eighty-nine percent chance that Lance wouldn’t tolerate it, tolerate him, and Arthur didn’t think he could handle that. There was an eleven percent that Lance wouldn’t react the way he expected, but of that eleven percent, there was a probability of seven point eight that he’d be even worse than his father and-

“Arthur!”

Jumping about a mile in the air, Arthur ducked his head as he felt the tears spring to his eyes. No no no no no, he couldn’t do this, nope, he changed his mind, he couldn’t do this, he couldn’t do this, he couldn’t- 

“Jesus Christ-Arthur!”

“I can’t do this,” Arthur mumbled, wiping furiously at his face. He couldn’t show his uncle his face, couldn’t let the man who had given him everything see him like this. It would just add fuel to the inevitable fire and he had always hated matches as a kid.

It was like gas, like when he had spilled some on the garage floor when he was twelve and that car backfired and the trail lit up like it was nothing and Lance had forced him out of the garage while he and the other gurus took care of it. Percy had gotten a little burn and Arthur had felt awful. He understood gas led to fire and that fire was bad.

That’s all he was. He wasn’t only the match, he was the gas trail. He was the reason for all the awful things in his life, he just kept adding to the flames and making all the bad things worse, bad things that he caused in the first place.

“I can’t do this,” he repeated, turning away. He would just live in the dark, save up some money and move out, be on his own, and then he wouldn’t have to burden Lance with his sorry ass, wouldn’t have to worry about not adding anything to the giant fireball that was his life.

“Can’t do what?” Lance asked, getting to his feet. He barely came up to Arthur’s chest, but Arthur had only see one other person more intimidating than him.

Arthur shook his head, spinning away from Lance and keeping his back to his uncle. He was a coward and a freak and it was better this way, Lance would never know and things could stay the way they were.

He didn’t trust himself to speak and went to leave, to flee like he always did.

“Whoa, whoa,” Lance said. Arthur felt the man’s meaty hand wrap around his wrist and hold him in place. “Hey, kid, you okay?”

He was too afraid to speak, Arthur could feel the tears threatening to spill over and the lump in his throat was only growing in size. He needed to be alone, couldn’t let Lance see him like this. 

“Arthur, look at me,” Lance told him, grip tightening around his arm. “Tell what’s wrong.”

“Nothing,” Arthur managed to gasp out, hating how his voice sounded.

“Bull,” Lance replied, and Arthur could just imagine the look on his face. He was probably furious already.

Arthur closed his eyes, refusing to look at his uncle, too scared. He couldn’t do this again.

“Oh, for the love of god,” Lance growled. “Spit it out, kid!”

“I’m asexual!” Arthur cried, clenching his eyes tighter. He felt the air around them still and everything became deathly quiet.

There was a long pause where Arthur felt his heart stop, literally stop. He felt the tears finally spill down his cheeks and turned his face further away from the other man, trying to hide.

“I’m… I’m asexual…” he whispered. His heart was not beating and he wasn’t get enough air. His voice caught at he continued. “I know you might not understand but it’s taken me a long time to come to terms with it and I’m still trying to figure things out myself but I just wanted you to know because it’s important and I needed you to know because you can’t live with a liar and-and-and-”

Oh, god, he was rambling and his voice was cracking, how did his uncle stand him.

The grip on his wrist loosened and Lance’s hand fell away. Arthur bit his lip, taking a deep, steadying breath, and he felt his heart, slowly, as if the muscle itself was as hesitant as he was, begin to beat again. He turned around, struggling to compose himself, and opened his eyes.

Lance was staring at him, face unreadable. Arthur was unsure what to do. The last time this had happened, his father had already begun to scream at him, his mother’s matching soprano singing in the background. Shouts were already flying by this time and Arthur didn’t know how to handle the silence.

The quiet surrounded them, not even the usual sounds of the metal and hum of cars penetrated them. Arthur tried to get his tears under control, to gather his thoughts, to make things better before the inevitable hammer came down.

He didn’t seem to be fast enough.

A wrench came flying at his head. Arthur just barely dodged it, feeling his heart drop just as fast as his head. He felt the air above him whistle as the tool passed by.

Lance’s face remained impassive as Arthur stared at him, lower lip trembling. This was it. He should have never had said anything. God, he was so stupid. Why did he do this to himself. God, all he wanted was to crawl in a hole and die, anything would be better than the humiliation that he was enduring.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered, struggling to get himself together. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

The sound of another tool slamming against the ground made him jump and Arthur winced. He wrapped his arms around his stomach, curling in on himself and braced himself. This was it, this was where his world came crashing down around him all over again.

“Is this going to be a problem?”

The question Lance threw at him was unexpected. Arthur paused in his sniffling and stared at his uncle, eyes wide. Lance was still staring at him, this time with a raised eyebrow.

“I-uh…” the blond stammered. “Pardon?”

Lance rolled his eyes. “Kid, I don’t particularly care what you are so long as it doesn’t interfere with you work. So I’ll ask one more time: is this going to be a problem?”

Arthur did his best impersonation of a fish. He was confused; the thrown tools he expected, the harsh words. He was thoroughly prepared for a thrashing, for being told he had to get out, he had to leave, he could never come back, get out of my sight, you’re not my son-nephew-and I don’t want to see your face around here ever again, you hear me, you useless piece of filthy crap-

-we spend all this money to make you perfect and now you’re telling us that you’re-

No. No, he was better than that, he had come to terms with who he was. He just wanted to make sure that Lance knew the kind of person he was housing under his roof.

Speaking of Lance…

The shorter man was watching him expectantly. Arthur snapped his mouth shut, swallowed past the lump in his throat, and shook his head. “N-n-no, sir.”

Lance nodded once, seemingly satisfied. “Good. Now help me clean up these tools before I throw another one at your thick skull.” He bent down to gather his belongings.

Arthur stood there, stock still and shocked, watching his uncle. He trembled with unknown emotion, arms circling tighter around himself.

“But…” he said softly. “But I… aren’t you… aren’t you mad?”

Lance looked up at him. “Why the hell would I be angry?”

“Because…” Arthur gulped. “I mean, I’m not… I’m not… normal.”

“Kid,” Lance sighed, standing back up, hooking his thumbs in his belt. “If I cared about who was ‘normal’ and who wasn’t, do you think I’d have a running business?”

Arthur blinked. 

“Besides,” the short man continued, glancing away before settling with scowling at Arthur’s chest, a slight flush to his cheeks. “Family don’t turn their backs on each other.” 

And that was it. That was the moment that broke the straw on the camels back and opened the dam Arthur was holding in.

He crumbled.

A choked sob escaped his mouth and Arthur nearly bent himself in half as he curled into a standing ball of flesh and tears.

He was safe. He was okay. He was going to be okay.

Lance didn’t hate him.

There was a heavy sigh that reached his ears and after a second, strong arms wrapped around him. He let his uncle hold him, gripped the back of the orange vest that was so much like his own, smelled the fait odor of grease and motor oil and gas. 

Gas that wasn’t aflame with hate, but with love.

As he buried his face in Lance’s shoulder, Arthur wondered how he could ever have doubted him.

Arthur managed to calm himself, the comforting scent of his uncle and the soothing hand rubbing circles on his back allowing him to gather himself together faster than he thought.

He pulled away, wiping his face and standing up straight. He sniffled, staring down at the shorter man.

Lance cleared his throat, looking away and taking a small step back and stuffing his hands in his pockets.

“Yeah,” he grumbled, glancing at Arthur, who continued to compose himself. “So.” He coughed.

Arthur knew how bad his uncle was at feelings; it was one of the many things they had in common. Still, he appreciated the effort Lance was making, more than the other man would ever know. 

“We’ll get this place all cleaned up and then we’ll go out to dinner, huh?” he asked. He nodded to himself. “Yeah, we’ll go to that pepper place.”

Smiling softly, still slightly teary-eyed, Arthur nodded himself. “Yeah,” he croaked. “Yeah, that sounds great, Uncle Lance.”

“Good,” Lance huffed. “Because I’m ready for some jalapeno pepper spaghetti.”

“You always get heart burn after, though,” Arthur replied, stooping down to help pick up the hammers and wrenches.

“And I will regret it tonight,” Lance stated with an act of finality. “What are you going to do about it?”

Arthur chuckled slightly. “Absolutely nothing, Uncle Lance.” 

“Good boy.”

After all, if Lance could accept him for who he was, it was the least Arthur could do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *nonchalantly slams fingers on keyboard* I have a quiz tomorrow!
> 
> This is all [hups](http://huppupbup.tumblr.com/) fault.


	23. Face to Face

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Video game heart-to-hearts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *puts finger to your lips* shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
> 
> Not proof-read or edited. Written in about an hour.

When Vivi paused the game (that she was totally  _ not _ losing at), Arthur let out an offended squawk. He whipped his head around, a twizzler still hanging from between his teeth, controller held loosely in his hands. Vivi raised an eyebrow.

“Vivi, come on!” he whined, pouting and nearly losing the red straw. “You can’t just pause the game in the middle of a battle! That’s not how Super Smash Bros. works!”

“This is important,” she told him.

Arthur looked at her, then gestured to the TV with one arm. “More important than our weekly SSB Tournament to End All Tournaments at the End of the World?”

“We need to get a better name for this,” Vivi muttered, rolling her eyes and taking in the stacks upon stacks of snacks that surrounded them. The pack of twizzlers was half-gone at Arthur’s hip, but she really couldn’t say much, considering the empty bag of cheese puffs in her lap.

Her best friend nearly blinked.

With an exaggerated sigh, Vivi set her controller down on the floor and crossed her legs. She needed to have this talk, needed to talk to  _ Arthur _ about this; he was the only person whose opinion mattered.

“I need to talk to you,” she said.

Arthur’s eyes flicked down to the controller on the floor and then back up to her face. Vivi watched in patient silence as he realized how serious she was, and set down his own controller, sucking the twizzler into his mouth and scooting back to slam his back into the front of the couch next to her.

“Okay, shoot,” he said, drawing his knees up and resting is chin on them.

Vivi paused for a moment before taking a deep breath. “What do you think of asking Lewis to join us on game day?”

She watched Arthur carefully, watched him for his initial reaction. The blond man liked to believe that he could control his facial expressions, but Vivi had known him long enough to tell the difference. And when Arthur remained blank-faced, Vivi wondered if she had lost her touch or if he really was indifferent.

As it was, it took Arthur a long time to answer, eyes flicking between her and the paused game on the TV. Vivi waited, worrying her bottom lip, and her hand twitched to reach out and pet Mystery. But the dog was gone for the day, out doing whatever it was dogs did on “SSB Tournament to End All Tournaments at the End of the World” days.

Vivi was on her own.

“…why…?” Arthur finally responded, and it was just like Vivi had anticipated.

She knew Arthur would ask that, knew he would instantly feel like he was being replaced and pushed out. But that wasn’t the case-Vivi could never live with herself if that happened to her best friend.

“It’s not like that,” she replied, watching him carefully. Arthur was staring at her, but his eyes were on her forehead, not her eyes; avoiding eye contact was something he was very good at. “I know what you’re thinking and you need to stop that right now. I’m not trying to impose on our bonding time. But… it’d be nice if you two could spend time together…”

“We spend time together,” Arthur countered immediately, forehead creasing as Vivi knew it would in denial.

“Standing awkwardly in the lobby of Tome Tomb while you wait for me to get off work is not ‘spending time together’,” Vivi rolled her eyes.

Arthur wrinkled his nose and turned his head away. “We never had a problem with it before,” she heard him mumble and sighed.

“You know what, nevermind,” she told him and reached down to grab her controller. She resumed the game and smashed the buttons, beating the crap out of Arthur’s Cloud character. She could feel the blond watching her.

“I mean, I guess,” she heard him say quietly, shifting to watch Cloud effectively fall off the platform and plummet to his death. “I’m not sure why you want us to spend time together in the first place…”

Cementing Kirby’s victory on screen, Vivi huffed and turned back to the blond. “Gee, maybe because what my best friend thinks of my boyfriend is important to me,” she snapped. She threw the controller to the ground where it bounced slightly on the carpet. “Nevermind, I knew I shouldn’t have asked.”

She crossed her arms over he chest and looked away from Arthur, feeling herself get worked up. She should have known this would have never worked out, known that Arthur wouldn’t agree to this.

But damn, he really mattered to her. If he didn’t like Lewis, then she wouldn’t go out with him. But the fact that she had been going out with the younger man for almost five months and the most he and Arthur had spoken was the “what time does she get off again?”, “six-thirty,” conversation was distressing. She loved Lewis, already knew it, but Arthur…

Arthur had been here longer, had helped her get through some things, and she had helped him. They were  _ best friends _ … and the fact that her  _ best friend _ and her  _ boyfriend _ might never get along felt like it was going to tear her in two. She couldn’t live in a world without Arthur, but a world without Lewis was like getting a taste of the forbidden fruit and then having it ripped from her lips.

She wanted Mystery…

She jumped when Arthur shifted positions.

“Why do you want my opinion so bad?” he asked. “Just do what you want.”

Vivi was quiet for a while before answering. She stared at the TV. “Because I  _ really _ like him, Art…”

Silence followed her confession and she was worried that she’d never get an answer. Instead, she watched as he leaned forward and snatched his controller up, easily picking another stadium and starting a new game.

“Three out of five. I lose, Lewis get to join.”

Vivi sighed. “Fine.”

The battle began.

“But I’m not getting any of that pepper stuff he likes,” Arthur said as they clicked away at their controllers. On screen, Kirby round-housed Cloud into oblivion.

“He can bring his own snacks,” she said, smashing the A-button.

“And his own beer.”

“I don’t think he drinks.”

“Then he can’t come.”

Cloud effectively lost the round.

Vivi smirked. “Kirby disagrees.”

Arthur held up a finger. “I said three out of five.” He dug the hand into the empty bag of cheese-puffs and scowled when there were none left. “Aw, Viv? Did you eat all the puffs?”

“I don’t want to hear it, you’ve decimated the twizzlers.”

“Damn straight I did.”

“Just pick another battle, twizzler-boy.”

The following week brought a whole new set of problems when she had to prevent Arthur from smacking Lewis every time the younger man accidently threw himself off the cliff.

“Stop killing yourself!”

“The controllers are too small!”

“The controllers are fine! You’re hands are freakishly large!”

The friendly bickering quickly dissolved into groans and shrieks as Vivi managed to kick both their asses in record time. By the end of the night, the boys had even teamed up against her and still lost.

“She’s got to be cheating, right?”

“How, Lewis?”

“I don’t know!”

“Let’s get her controller’s batteries next round.”

Vivi smirked and when they said their goodbyes for the evening, Arthur pulled her into a one-armed hug and pressed a kiss to her temple.

“He’s not so bad,” he mumbled against her hair.

Vivi let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Arthur smiled at her and gave her once last squeeze before heading out. “Hey, Lew, wait up!” she heard him yell as she closed the door.

She didn’t think her heart could get any fuller. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *blows raspberry*


	24. Relax

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little down time never hurt anyone... or does it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *crawls back into this fic* Hello....
> 
> Look, I know it's been a while, don't judge me. A little writing exercise birthed this. Pure fluff. No plot. FWP. Fluff without Plot.
> 
> That's a thing, right?
> 
> NOW FEATURING BRITISH!ARTHUR

Lewis chuckled as Vivi let out a frustrated groan, her mouse clicking wildly under her fingers. She flashed him a quick glare before continuing, cheering loudly when the monster on her screen disappeared under her assault.

“Ha!” she cried. “Take that you stupid zombie!”

“You get ‘im?” Lewis asked, peering over the top of his own laptop as she got the experience points and rotten flesh he had left behind.

“Hell yeah!” Vivi grinned. “Lew, come over here. There’s a whole hoard coming and I think there’s a dungeon nearby.”

She watched as Lewis purple character moved towards her on screen, his purple leather armor a stark contrast to her own diamond.

“You two die, I will not teleport you again,” Arthur told them, raising an eyebrow at them from his spot on the couch where he was laid out.

Vivi dismissed him with a wave of her hand, fingers quickly going back to her keyboard when monsters descended upon her. “Nah, you totally will. 

“Nah, I totally won’t.”

“And what, exactly, are you doing over there?” Lewis asked, tongue sticking out as he smashed his own mouse. “Ah! Vivi, come help me!”

Quickly disposing of her zombie’s, Vivi turned around, heading to her boyfriend’s aid. “Don’t worry, I gotchu, babe.” She swung her sword wildly, catching several of the beasts in her path.

“You’re gonna die,” Arthur called, staring intently at his computer.

Vivi scowled. “Am not, stop saying that.”

“Arthur, where even are you?” Lewis questioned, looking over his shoulder at the blond. “We haven’t seen you in ages.”

Calmly moving his mouse, Arthur didn’t glance up when he responded. “I am at the base we created. A long time ago. Remember, before you and Vivi decided to become full time monster hunters?”

Shooting Arthur a look, Vivi scowled. “Really? Have you really not left that place since the last teleport?”

“Nope,” Arthur responded, popping the “p”.

“What have you been doing?” Vivi cried, finishing off the last of her zombies just as the sun rose.

“Stuff.”

“What kind of stuff?!” Vivi continued on her path, sure that Lewis would follow as he had been. “If you’ve literally just been mining this entire time, I swear to god…”

“It’s not like we won’t need the coal,” the other man defended. “Or iron. Or obsidian. Or diamond.”

“Or all that cobblestone you’re mining?” Vivi retorted. She let out a frustrated grunt and clicked her mouse a few times. “Damn spiders.”

“Cave spiders are the worst,” Lewis agreed. He glanced back at Arthur, who was calmly working away at his own pace, a serene look on his face. “Seriously, Art. What the hell?” 

“You’ll thank me later.”

“When you teleport us.”

“When you both inevitable die and spawn back here.”

“Or at the spawn point.”

“Only if Arthur broke our beds.”

“He didn’t.”

“You sound so sure, Viv.”

“Arthur, I swear to god, if you broke our beds…”

“Sorry, can’t hear you. Too far away, you know, with you and Lew being lost in an abandoned mineshaft somewhere.”

“Listen here, you little shit, I will-” the blue-haired woman stopped abruptly, eyes narrowing as she glanced over at a relaxed Arthur.

He looked up when she trailed off.

“How’d you know we were in an abandoned mineshaft, Arthur?”

Immediately, Arthur tensed, turning his attention back to his computer. “I don’t. Lucky guess.”

“Bullshit.”

“You mentioned cave spiders, there’s only one-” 

“Is that why I keep finding random cave chickens?!” Lewis screeched, head whipping to the blond.

“…No?”

Vivi pointed a finger accusingly at Arthur. “You’re the one who keeps demining me!”

“Nooooo,” Arthur said slowly, shaking his head, eyes fixed intently on his screen. “I would never…”

“You’re such a fucking liar,” Vivi exclaimed. She turned her character around in the mine. “Where are you, I’m going to kick your ass.”

“I’m not anywhere.”

“Show your sorry ass.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You’re invisible!” Lewis accused, fighting off another spider. “You’re invisible and flying!”

“Cheating!” Vivi cried. “No host privileges!”

Chuckling slightly, Arthur quickly moved his mouse around. “I’m not!”

“You’re so full of shit your eyes are brown!”

“More amber, actually.”

“Cheeky little bastard, aren’t you.”

“You love me.”

“I do. Now come over here and face me like a man so I can beat your ass to a _bloody_ pulp.”

“Don’t try the British accent. It doesn’t suit you.”

“I’ll show you what doesn’t suit you.”

“That makes so much sense.”

“Vivi, wait, I lost you. How do I get out of this cave?”

“Not now, Lew, I’m trying to murder Arthur.”

“You’ll never catch me alive!”

“Don’t be a chicken!”

A chicken popped up out of thin air on Vivi’s screen, squawking and fluttering to the ground. Vivi watched it impassively and then shot Arthur a look. The blonde’s face was scrunched up comically, trying not to laugh.

“You’re a dead man,” Vivi promised.

Arthur snorted, trying to contain his mirth.

“Vivi,” Lewis whined, pouting. “I’m lost, come back and get me.”

“After I kick Arthur’s ass to the nether.”

The large man let out a pitiful whine. “Vivi…”

“In a _minute_ , Lew!” Vivi swung her sword up at thin air. “I need to kill Arthur.”

Arthur responded by giggling and suddenly, Vivi was caught up in a rain shower of raw beef.

“ _Really_ , Arthur?!”

His only response was to giggle harder.

Vivi walked around on screen, brandishing her sword in thin air. “I’m going to murder the _fuck_ out of you!”

“You’ll have to catch me first!”

“Maybe if you didn’t hide like a coward, I’d be able to!”

“Never!”

“Vivi…”

She swung in the air again. “God dammit, Arthur!”

Arthur giggled some more and dropped some more meat. Vivi cried out in frustration and swung at nothing repeatedly, her mouse clicking wildly as she ran into walls.

A cow materialized out of nowhere and landed on top of Vivi’s character. Without a warning, Vivi screamed and thrust her laptop off the table, climbing out of her chair and vaulting over the back of the couch to land on an unsuspecting Arthur’s lap. He shouted in surprised, barely moving his own computer out of the way before his ribs were viciously assaulted by Vivi’s light touch.

“Ah!” he giggled, thrashing, trying to escape. “Get off me!”

“You’re the worst!” Vivi declared, smirking.

As she continued to tickle Arthur mercilessly, Lewis watched from his spot at the table, a small smile on his face. It was nice to see the two of them relaxed; things had been way too tense lately, what with his death-anniversary approaching. It had been years, but the two of them still got nervous this time of year.

Still, Lewis grinned, it was nice just to have some down time.

That was, until his character, hauling a surplus amount of valuable things, was promptly killed by a cave spider. Lewis cried out in shock and sadness as he reappeared on screen, itemless, in a random part of the map that didn’t look remotely familiar.

So much for that haul…

“Lew?”

He glanced up, noticing the worried look on both his partner’s faces.

“Everything okay?” Vivi asked.

Lewis sighed, leaning back in the chair. “Arthur destroyed the beds,” he said, gesturing to his computer.

There was a pregnant pause, where Vivi processed the information and Arthur struggled to keep in his laughter.

When Vivi resumed her attack on Arthur’s sides, Lewis chuckled.

So much for a nice, quiet game of Minecraft.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...
> 
> *blows raspberry*


End file.
